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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25253389">In the Name of Science</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimetrodon/pseuds/dimetrodon'>dimetrodon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, But also plot!, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gaster Needs a Hug, Gen, Goopster!, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Mute!Gaster, Selectively Mute Frisk (Undertale), Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Such nerds, Swearing, These two are such dorks, and i love them, believe it or not, but he won't be goopy forever, let's be real, like a VERY slow burn, their obliviousness makes them idiots, there IS a plot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:47:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>55,116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25253389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimetrodon/pseuds/dimetrodon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a human scientist gets permission to visit the Underground four years after monsters resurfaced, she jumps at the chance to conduct her research.</p><p>She didn't expect to find someone down there.</p><p>She didn't expect to embark on an incredible journey to find this stranger's missing pieces, and put him back together.</p><p>And she certainly didn't expect to find love along the way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), W. D. Gaster/Original Character(s), W. D. Gaster/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>121</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Permission Granted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi everyone! Well... it’s been a while. If you’re new here, this is actually a re-write of a reader insert story I started writing a year and a bit ago, and never ended up finishing. </p><p>If you’re not new, and were following the old version of In the Name of Science, thank you so much for all the support you gave me on that story. I’m sorry I can’t continue that version – I realised that I wasn’t actually writing a reader insert, but was writing an OC who had her own personality and motivations and background that not all readers were ever going to be able to relate to. I also wasn’t happy with the direction that story was heading in the last few chapters I posted, and it became difficult for me to continue writing it. </p><p>I’ve thought about this story for the last year, and I’ve racked my brains trying to figure out how I could fix the old version. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t fix it, and needed to start from scratch. So that’s what I’m doing! </p><p>So this is no longer a reader insert story, but will focus on an OC of mine, Amira. I think this will allow me to explore her personality and character in a more interesting way than I ever would have been able to with a reader insert. The story itself won’t change (except for one detail in later chapters – but I’m sure that will be a welcome change), and I’ll still be following the plan I made for this story last year.</p><p>So! I hope you all enjoy this. As always, constructive criticism is always welcome! I’m excited to hear what you all think about this rewrite.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Shit</em>, was Amira’s waking thought, <em>I’m so screwed</em>.</p><p>She launched herself from the comfort of her toasty bed at the sight of the numbers that lit her phone’s cracked screen. 9:16. She had fourteen minutes to get ready, get her things together, and run to work.</p><p>She grabbed her glasses from the bedside table, slipping them onto her face and blinking a couple of times to get used to her sight. Amira stumbled to her closet and pulled out the first pair of jeans she saw, and a large grey sweater. As she tugged the sweater on, she blindly entered the living room, making a beeline for the small fish tank against the wall. “Hello, darling!” a smile graced Amira’s features as she cheerfully greeted her lone companion: May, a small catfish. Amira shook a little food into her tank, before speeding to the bathroom to brush her teeth and tie back her dark shoulder-length curls.</p><p>When she emerged, Amira grabbed her laptop off the kitchen counter, an apple from the fridge, some of her work papers from the dining table, and her wrinkled lab coat from the hook by the front door. She wrenched the door open and began the short run to the university where she studied and researched.</p><p>Amira was in the final year of her Master’s research degree as an evolutionary biologist. When she finished her undergrad degree, she’d been a little lost, unsure of the direction she wanted to take her life in. But since the monsters emerged from beneath Mount Ebott four years ago, her choice couldn’t have been any clearer.</p><p>This race of people, their evolutionary history, and how the biological and magical components of monsters interacted absolutely fascinated her. She understood then that humanity (and monsterkind) were at the forefront of a major scientific breakthrough. And she’d be damned if she weren’t a part of it.</p><p>So she’d packed up her life and moved all the way here, to do a research degree at Ebott University, just an hour’s drive from the mountain and the Underground itself. The last four years felt like a blur – she and her colleagues had made a lot of progress on understanding the evolutionary links between humans and monsters, but there were still so many gaps to be filled. Many of which she suspected could be solved with a visit to the Underground – she needed a deeper understanding of the environmental conditions monsters lived under, as well as samples of vegetation and water bodies.</p><p>Unfortunately, human access to the Underground was still tightly restricted, and although Amira had lodged an application to the King of Monsters for permission to enter some time ago, she had yet to hear back. So for now, she just had to make the best of what she had.</p><p>Amira made it to the lab only a couple of minutes late. She scanned her ID at the door, buzzing herself in. To her mild surprise, there was a familiar figure standing by her research area.</p><p>Amira and Doctor Alphys had neighbouring labs, and after a few months limited to awkward small talk and avoiding eye contact, Amira had eventually worked up the courage to befriend the shy scientist. It was nice to finally have someone to eat lunch with and talk to at work. She had a feeling Alphys didn’t have many friends around here either.</p><p>“Oh, h-hey, Amira!” Alphys’ features lit up as she saw the human approaching.</p><p>“Hey Alphys!” Amira responded with a grin. “Don’t tell me you need more burettes again?” she teased. Last week Alphys had sheepishly showed up at her lab, begging for a burette after accidentally sweeping a table of glassware onto the floor with her tail (after being startled by her girlfriend’s sudden and... <em>loud </em>appearance).</p><p>Alphys ducked her head slightly, clearly embarrassed. “N-no... Actually! I have some good news for you.” She beamed excitedly, pulling a folded piece of paper from the pocket of her lab coat and holding it out to Amira. Intrigued, Amira plucked the paper from her outstretched claw, and unfolded it.</p><p>Within a second of scanning the paper’s contents, she knew exactly what it was. She finally had Royal permission! She was actually allowed to enter the Underground!</p><p>A squeak of excitement snuck past her lips as she hopped on the spot for a second. “I can’t believe it! Finally! I seriously thought I was never going to get in!”</p><p>Alphys let out a giggle at her obvious ecstasy. “It takes a l-long time to do all the security checks and everything... But! Obviously you’ve been deemed s-safe. Congratulations, Amira!”</p><p>“Thanks, Alphys!” Amira responded as she slipped past the reptilian monster and began bustling around her lab, gathering the field equipment she’d need. The work she’d originally planned on doing today could wait.</p><p>A look of confusion passed Alphys’ features. “W-wait, you’re going now?” she stammered.</p><p>“Of course!” Amira turned her head, flashing a smile in Alphys’ direction. “Alphys, I’ve been waiting for this day for three and a half years! How could I not go now?”</p><p>Alphys nodded in understanding. “I w-would offer to go with you, but I have several deadlines I need to meet today... Unless! You want to wait until tomorrow? I-I could come with you then, help you find your way around?”</p><p>“I really appreciate the offer,” Amira responded, pushing her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose, “But I honestly think I’d drive myself nuts if I waited another day. I definitely wouldn’t be able to get any work done today.” It was true. She was practically giddy with excitement.</p><p>The lizard monster grinned, “Y-yeah, I understand the feeling! Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” She left Amira’s lab with a small wave, which the human woman returned.</p><p>Amira made a mental list of what she had gathered. <em>Sample containers, water-testing kits, forceps, gloves, labels, and maps of the Underground. </em>That should be all she really needed, for a first cursory visit anyway. She also had her phone, which she could use to take pictures of the Underground’s various strange environmental systems.</p><p>Nodding absently to herself, Amira packed all the equipment into a field backpack, and headed off with a spring in her step.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The drive to Mount Ebott was a relatively peaceful and uneventful one. The further Amira strayed from the city, the more serene her surroundings became. Gentle hills blanketed with lush vegetation rolled past, and the azure sky overhead was totally devoid of clouds.</p><p>Then suddenly, Mount Ebott itself. It split the sky, a dark gash through the blue, towering above everything. Amira recalled the first time she had seen the behemoth – on a live news broadcast, on the fateful day when monsters had resurfaced.</p><p>She vividly remembered the chaos of that day (and the following months). The confusion and wonder as humans fought to get a glimpse of the so-called race of monsters that had emerged from beneath the mountain. The animosity of so many humans, who had been enraged at the prospect of having to share their world, their resources, and their lives with these creatures. The gaping divide between monsters and humans.</p><p>Unfortunately, the divide was still present four years later. But it was nowhere near as wide as it had been. Progress was slow, but thankfully monsters were becoming more and more accepted by human society. As monsters were accounted for legally and politically, the initial chaos and insanity died down. But a lot of the underlying prejudice and racism still remained.</p><p>Amira was drawn from her retrospection as she approached the military-protected border. A tall gate lined with ridiculous amounts of barbed wire obstructed her path. She slowed her large silver car right down and rolled down the window as a single soldier appeared from the gatehouse.</p><p>Amira’s throat began to tighten with anxiety as her eyes were immediately drawn to the gun at the soldier’s belt as she approached Amira’s car. “ID?” she asked in a blunt, no-nonsense tone. Wordlessly, Amira rummaged around her bag and quickly handed the soldier her license. She took it into the gatehouse beside the road.</p><p>The growing pit of nervousness continued to churn in Amira’s stomach. What if she wasn’t in the system yet? She had only just gotten permission this morning, right? Should she have waited a couple days? She squirmed in her seat, picking at the seam of her sweater with her painted nails, dark eyes watching the guardhouse for the soldier’s return.</p><p>After what seemed like an eternity, the soldier emerged from the gatehouse and approached Amira’s car again. “You’re good to go,” she handed the license back through the window, and the tension began to bleed from Amira’s body. “Be careful down there.” She warned.</p><p>“Thank you, will do.” Amira nodded her thanks and started the car again, its engine grumbling to life as the gate before the mountain rolled aside.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The cave gaped before Amira; a tunnel in complete darkness, of indeterminate length. She pulled out her phone to snap a picture for later reference.</p><p>She was starting to wish she’d waited until tomorrow and taken up Alphys’ offer to show her around.</p><p>But she steeled her nerves. She was being ridiculous. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! This trip could be what allowed her to complete her research and fill in the gaps in monsters’ known evolutionary history.</p><p>Flicking on her phone’s torch, Amira began the descent.</p><p>After a few terrifying minutes of unsteadily descending through darkness, light began to pervade her field of vision. But from where? She glanced up to the cave’s low ceiling.</p><p>
  <em>Of course.</em>
</p><p>The rocky surface above her was sprinkled with what looked like some kind of bioluminescent moss, emitting faint yellow light. She snapped another picture and decided to collect a sample to analyse in the lab later.</p><p>As she resumed her journey, Amira noticed that the abundance of the moss increased the further down she went. The passage became brighter, and she no longer needed her phone’s torch. <em>I don’t even want to think about how far down I am right now. Or how much of a trek it’s going to be walking all the way back up</em>, Amira inwardly groaned.</p><p>In the distance ahead, she noticed the passage came to an end with a massive golden door nestled amongst the rocks. Eager now, she rushed towards the door, struggling to pull the enormous thing open, and slid through.</p><p>She found herself in a cavernous hall with immense windows lining gold-gilded walls, and a floor still so polished and immaculate that she could see her own reflection. <em>The Judgement Hall</em>, she recalled from the maps she had studied. She pulled one of said maps from her bag to confirm where she was headed next.</p><p>It seemed that if she kept heading west, she would arrive in Hotland outside the Core. Amira wanted samples from the three major ecosystems in the Underground – Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland – to get an understanding of the different environmental conditions monsters had lived in and adapted to. The logical way to approach this would be to just keep heading west – starting at Hotland, moving on to Waterfall, and ending in Snowdin. With that plan in mind, Amira folded the map and tucked it back into her bag and continued through the hall.</p><p>The castle itself wasn’t hard to navigate, and Amira soon found herself in an elevator which would take her outside the Core. As the silver doors slid open, she was met with a rush of hot, dry air that briefly clouded her glasses. She felt like she was about to step into an oven. <em>Maybe jeans and a sweater weren’t the best choice. At least I wore walking boots, though.</em> Rolling her sleeves up to her elbows and exposing her tan forearms, Amira stepped out onto the cracked, red earth beneath her feet, and examined her surroundings.</p><p>The area was fairly barren – no substantial organic matter as far as she could tell. Nevertheless, she bent down to begin taking some soil samples, and snapped a few photos of her surroundings too. She was a little miffed that there was no vegetation here as far as she could see, but she supposed it made sense given the unbearable heat.</p><p>Amira’s dark eyes were drawn to the edge of the platform she was on – a sea of lava roiled far below her. Against her better judgement, she sat on the ledge, dangling her legs over the edge. Already, the heat was seeping through her flesh, sinking into her bones, making her blood sluggish and her muscles heavy.</p><p>As she cast her eyes downward again, Amira noticed several layered rock platforms jutting from the edge of the cliff beneath her. Intrigued, she leaned over further to look more closely. Something caught her eye – it was a small grey object, no larger than an apple, on a platform a few metres below her.</p><p>
  <em>Hold on – is it... moving?</em>
</p><p>Sure enough, the grey mass seemed to be shifting and writhing before Amira’s eyes. She had never seen anything like it before, and realised it was probably something organic – something she should definitely get a sample of.</p><p>Amira shuffled off the ground, her boot-clad feet landing on a platform directly underneath her. <em>So far, so good.</em> On her hands and knees, she crawled across the platform so that she was directly above the strange grey thing.</p><p>It was definitely moving. It was stationary in its position on the platform, but its surface was aggressively pulsing with waves and valleys.</p><p>Though it was directly beneath her, it was a couple metres’ drop – Amira couldn’t just jump down without risking falling to a premature death. Taking a deep breath, she dangled her legs over the platform, then dropped herself so that she was clinging by just her hands. Her feet scrambled on the wall for footholds, until she reached a somewhat stable position.</p><p>One by one, she moved her feet further down to other footholds, reluctantly relinquishing her hands’ grip on the platform in favour of little outcroppings of the cliff face. She ignored the urge to push her glasses up and swallowed the discomfort of the dirt trapped beneath her nails. She was almost there.</p><p>Suddenly, the rock Amira’s left foot rested on gave way. She panicked, scrambling to grab something, anything, on the vertical surface. But to no avail. She fell through the air, and her side struck the platform hard. The impact would have sent her rolling off the edge into the sea of lava far below had it not been for a jagged piece of rock jutting from the platform, which she managed to grab at the last second.</p><p>Breathing harshly, Amira struggled to calm herself. The edges of her vision had darkened, and she could hear a faint sound – <em>like static</em> – over the pounding of her heartbeat. <em>I must be in shock, </em>she thought. She gave herself a couple of seconds, hoping her vision would go back to normal. When it didn’t, she slowly hauled herself up.</p><p>The grey object pulsed before her. She was just a few steps from it now – this thing she’d stupidly and recklessly risked her life for. Gritting her teeth, she stepped towards it, prepared to sample it.</p><p>When she did, though, her vision tunnelled further and the static hum in her ears became louder. Amira panicked for a second, but when it didn’t get any worse, she continued. She wouldn’t let this stop her. Determined, she walked right up to the grey mass, trying to ignore her limited field of vision and the droning in her ears.</p><p>Until she saw it.</p><p>Amira stopped dead in her tracks. She dared not take another step forward.</p><p>A towering figure loomed over her. It was black – blacker than any night she had ever seen – and its shape was amorphous. Almost like the grey object which it stood behind, its figure seemed to shift and change before her eyes. Except for its... face? A stark white oval in the midst of the roiling blackness, with what looked like large, misshapen eye sockets and a gash of a mouth.</p><p>
  <em>What the hell have I gotten myself into?</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... I'm keen to know what you guys think about this chapter! Please let me know if you're enjoying it so far :) </p><p>Also, in terms of an update schedule - I can't promise anything super regular, but I should be able to hopefully get a chapter out each week (maybe a bit more often for the chapters I've already written for the previous version, and just need to edit). We'll see how it goes!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Strangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Edit: I'm so happy to say that we've got fan art for this chapter!!! The incredibly talented TrinTerrance has drawn the cute little scene towards the end of the chapter. Please have a look, as it's super adorable.</p>
<p>You can see it here:</p>
<p>
  <a>https://trinterrance.tumblr.com/post/625841420339658752/dimetrodonao3-this-is-the-fanart-i-made-for-in
</a>
</p>
<p>________________________________________________</p>
<p>Well, I guess I'm on a roll.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter :) I hope you enjoy this one as well!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira was frozen.</p>
<p>Her blood was ice, her muscles were frozen in place. Static roared in her ears and darkness shrouded her vision. Her brain was scrambling to form a response to the creature that had appeared before her.</p>
<p>Before Amira’s body could catch up with her mind’s instinct to <em>run – get the hell out of here</em>, her eyes caught some movement. Amidst the figure’s vacuous blackness were two white... hands? They didn’t seem to be quite <em>solid</em>, just like the rest of the creature, and had holes where the palms should have been. Nevertheless, they were definitely hands.</p>
<p>And they were moving; frantically forming shapes and signals. <em>Sign language? </em>Amira had never learned sign language – she’d never needed to – so even if that was what it was doing, she had no way of understanding it. But then her eyes slid back to the figure’s face. It – <em>he?</em> – wore an expression Amira could only describe as distressed. His strange eyes seemed to be pleading with her.</p>
<p>Amira felt her fear slowly begin to evaporate as she realised that if this thing wanted to hurt her, it probably would have and could have already. She took a deep breath, adjusted her glasses, and tried to speak as steadily as she could. “Are you... what are you?” Despite her efforts, her words came out shaky and breathless. The figure began to rapidly sign a response.</p>
<p>Now Amira just felt stupid – asking a question to someone she couldn’t understand. “Sorry, I-I don’t understand.” She shook her head apologetically. The figure lowered his head, frustrated. “Oh, hold on a second!” she blurted, unzipping and rummaging around in her backpack until she found what she was looking for.</p>
<p>She pulled out her notebook and pencil, and cautiously held them out to him. One of his hands slowly came forward, and gingerly took them from her, and he nodded in thanks. Amira watched, intrigued as he flipped the notebook open, wrote something inside, and turned it to show her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hello, my name is W.D. Gaster. I am sorry if I startled you – my appearance must be unusual to you. To answer your question; I am a monster. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Forgive me for asking, but are you a human? I only ask because I have never seen an adult human before. </strong>
</p>
<p><em>Never seen an adult human before?</em> That could only mean that this monster had been in the Underground for the last four years – he must not have been to the surface yet. “It’s nice to meet you, Gaster,” Amira’s voice was steadier this time, “My name’s Amira. And yes, I’m a human.” He nodded in acknowledgement and began writing something else.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I’m curious – what would bring a human to the Underground? </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira’s posture straightened and her features brightened at the prospect of talking about her research. She rationalised that there was no harm in it – this monster didn’t seem so sinister anymore. “I’ve got special permission from the King to come down here to take samples and scope out the different ecosystems here. I’m researching monsters’ evolutionary history, how that ties into other species’ evolution, and how magic factors into your biology. I’ve made some groundwork, but I really needed to actually get down here and get an understanding of the environment and the selection pressures you might have faced, among other things.” Gaster’s face seemed to light up, as he scribbled something into the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Are you a scientist, then? A biologist?</strong>
</p>
<p>The woman nodded eagerly, her short ponytail bobbing behind her. “Yes, exactly!” Gaster smiled at her, before going back to write in the notebook. Amira was starting to feel bad that he had to write down all his responses to her. <em>I really should learn at least some basic sign language</em>, the thought crossed her mind<em>, so I don’t embarrass myself like this again</em>.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I was a scientist, as well. Not a biologist, however - I was a physicist.</strong>
</p>
<p><em>Was</em> a scientist? Amira decided not to ask what that meant, although she did wonder. She couldn’t believe her luck, though – of all the people to run into down here, she happened to run into a former scientist! A physicist, but still – he might be able to tell her about the grey thing that had brought her tumbling down here in the first place.</p>
<p>Amira was starting to think that perhaps it was her proximity to the grey mass, and not Gaster, that was causing the droning static and tunnel vision. Although Gaster had only appeared to her when she had stepped close to the grey object. <em>Maybe he’s connected to it somehow? </em></p>
<p>“I was wondering...” Amira began somewhat hesitantly, brown eyes darting to the side, “That grey thing,” she gestured towards it with a hand, “is it biological? I came down here because I saw it moving and I wanted to try and get a sample.” At the mention of the grey object, Gaster’s entire demeanour shifted. He cast his lidless gaze down to it, his mouth drooping into a frown, and his form slumping slightly. Amira began to think she shouldn’t have mentioned it.</p>
<p>He hesitated for a moment, before going to the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is not biological, per se. Taking a sample likely would not yield any results. </strong>
</p>
<p>She was confused – <em>how is it moving, then?</em> – but decided not to press. Instead, Amira changed the direction of the conversation. “Ok. Thanks for letting me know. You said you’ve never seen an adult human before – does that mean you haven’t been to the surface yet?” She had thought the Underground would be completely empty – as far as she knew, all the monsters had relocated to the surface, wanting to be free.</p>
<p>He gave his head a slow shake, before responding.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I cannot leave this place. I must remain in the Underground. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>On another note – have you collected samples from Waterfall and Snowdin already? Or do you have yet to visit there?</strong>
</p>
<p>More and more questions were bubbling up in Amira’s brain – <em>why can’t he leave the Underground? </em>– but she sensed that this was a sensitive subject, so she let them slide. He seemed a little wary of her (as she was of him), but she thought that if she could earn his trust a little, she could get some much-wanted answers. Plus, he was a scientist too! He might have some important insights into the areas Amira would be studying and the samples she should collect.</p>
<p>Not to mention, he seemed... lonely. When she had first seen him, and was visibly terrified, he had been frantically trying to tell her that he wasn’t a threat. To stop her from bolting. Not that she had understood what he was saying, but still. And he had been in the Underground (presumably by himself) for the last four years, while everyone else moved to the surface. Amira wouldn’t feel right just leaving him here.</p>
<p>Her brown eyes met his. “No, I haven’t been there yet. I do need some initial samples that I can take back to the lab for analysis. Hotland was my first stop.” She paused for a moment, considering her next words carefully. “Would you... Do you want to come with me?” Gaster’s eyes widened, and his features seemed to brighten as he nodded, before pausing, and turning to the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I would love to join you while you collect your samples. However, my movement is somewhat restricted. I cannot move more than a few steps away from <strike>my</strike> the grey object.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was practically burning to know what the grey thing was at this point, and why he was so strongly connected to it. She couldn’t help herself, and let a couple of questions slip out. “Is the grey thing the thing that’s making that static noise? And darkening my vision? Is that happening to you, too?” He looked upset for a moment before he responded.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It likely is the cause. However, I am not affected by it the way you are. I suspect other people would be.</strong>
</p>
<p>The woman nodded as if she understood, even though his answer had raised more questions for her than it answered. “You can’t move away from the grey thing... and I’m assuming you can’t just pick it up and take it with you?” Amira asked. He simply shook his head despondently in response, moving towards the grey thing and bending down as if to pick it up, but when his hand should have met its shifting surface, it simply passed through. Amira’s mind was spinning – so Gaster could touch and hold the notebook and pencil, but he couldn’t touch this thing he seemed so strongly connected to? It didn’t make any sense. Maybe no one could touch it.</p>
<p>Amira decided to test this theory. Also, she couldn’t help but wonder how long Gaster had been stuck here, alone, considering he couldn’t leave the grey thing or move it himself. She felt like she should at least try to move it herself. “... Can I pick it up? So you can move around, I mean. I could take it with me to go to Waterfall and Snowdin so you can come with me.” Amira was starting to ramble, wringing her hands together. “Only if you still want to. Is it even possible for me to touch it?” She forced herself to stop talking.</p>
<p>Gaster looked a little stunned but paused in what looked like contemplation. Amira wondered if she had said something stupid or offended him in some way. She really hoped not.</p>
<p>
  <strong>You should be able to touch it. I would be honoured to join you, if you are willing to take me with you. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira breathed a silent sigh of relief. So, she hadn’t said anything outrageously offensive or uneducated. She faced Gaster with a bright smile. “Alright then,” she clapped her hands together before bending down to pick up the grey thing. Sure enough, she could touch it without a problem. It continued rippling and roiling, which felt unlike anything she had ever touched before, and it was cool and metallic against her hands. She unzipped her backpack, and with utmost care, placed the grey orb safely inside.</p>
<p>Her focus shifted back to Gaster. “Shall we head off?” His mouth was curved into hopeful smile as he curled one hand into a fist, raised it, and made a knocking motion. <em>Was that sign language for ‘yes’?</em> Amira assumed so.</p>
<p>She turned to face the vertical rock face and steeled herself. Climbing back to the top would be tough, but she had to get back up there somehow. There were no jutting rock platforms in her immediate reach, so she had to lock her hands onto small indents in the wall, slowly making her way up to the first platform, about a metre out of her reach. Again, she tried to ignore the discomfort of dirt lodging itself underneath her nails. Amira hauled herself onto the platform, panting. The extreme heat and dryness here made physical exertion that much more painful, and she wasn’t exactly the fittest person on the planet. The fact that she was wearing jeans and a sweater certainly didn’t help.</p>
<p>She took a break for a minute, kneeling on the platform. Somehow, Gaster was standing beside her. <em>Did he... climb up?</em> He didn’t look tired at all. In fact, he just looked concerned about the state Amira was in.</p>
<p>Luckily, there was another platform above her just within her reach. She stood, brushing the reddish dust from her jeans, and grasped it with both hands, planting her boots on the vertical rock face and shuffling them up. When she felt high enough, Amira hauled herself onto it. She really didn’t have the upper body strength for this. <em>I really need to work out more</em>. She looked around for Gaster, curious as to how he would get up there. Sure enough, he was climbing up after her... if you could even call it climbing. His strange, amorphous body was simply somehow... clinging to the rock, pulling him up. Definitely one of the weirdest things Amira had ever seen.</p>
<p>She looked up, noting with relief that she was only about a metre and a half from the top. Walking to the edge of the platform she was on, Amira reached for another one just above her and dragged herself up. At this point, her arms were burning with exertion, and she was sweating profusely. <em>I must look like a complete wreck</em>. She swiped a hand across her forehead, before unzipping her backpack and yanking her water bottle out, taking a long, much-needed drink. Again, she turned her head to look at Gaster. He was standing beside her, as she predicted, and didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat. <em>Can he even sweat?</em> Before Amira could turn away, he waved a hand at her to hold her attention and began to write in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Are you alright? Hotland’s climate is far from optimal for humans, and this strenuous physical activity seems to be taking a toll on you. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was a little embarrassed that her struggling was so obvious, especially given that neither the climate nor the climbing seemed to be affecting him at all. “I’m fine – we’re pretty close to the top. I just want to get out of Hotland. Like you said, this climate really doesn’t suit me.” She laughed, trying to brush off his concern, and returning her water bottle to her bag. He was still watching her, though, his mouth downturned with what looked like worry.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I realise that we are close to the top and I should have offered sooner, but I could lift you to the top so that you do not hurt yourself. </strong>
</p>
<p>Any other time, Amira would have refused out of sheer pride. But as it was, her muscles were trembling with exertion and she had a feeling her arms would give out trying to pull herself up again. She pushed aside her ego and spoke, “Actually... I would really appreciate that.” Gaster nodded, as his expression shifted from worry to relief. He turned to the wall and did his strange ‘climbing’ thing until he reached the top.</p>
<p>He then began reaching down. His ‘arms’ seemed to stretch beyond what they should have been able to (Amira figured this was yet another feature of his odd, shifting figure) until his pale hands stopped, outstretched towards her darker ones. She hesitated for a second, before gingerly placing her hands in his much larger ones. Immediately, she noticed that his hands didn’t feel <em>quite</em> solid (they didn’t look quite solid either). They were cool to the touch and felt like what she could only describe as extremely thick fog. To be honest, she half expected that her hands would just slip through his at some point. But she didn’t have time to question this further as he curled his fingers around hers, before beginning to lift her up.</p>
<p>To Amira’s profound relief, her hands didn’t simply fall through his. When she was at the top, she planted her feet firmly on the scorched ground, breathing a sigh of relief. Gaster slowly released the other scientist’s hands once he was sure she was steady. Amira smoothed her flyaway hairs back, looked up at him and smiled gratefully. “Thanks. Let’s get out of this damn heat now!” He scribbled something in the notebook in reply.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Agreed. Will we go to Waterfall now? Do you know the way there?</strong>
</p>
<p>“Yep, next stop: Waterfall.” Amira declared. “I know it’s West of here, but... the maps I have aren’t particularly detailed. Apparently, mapping just wasn’t a thing in the Underground.” She paused, before sheepishly continuing, “I was kind of just going to rely on trial-and-error, in terms of finding my way there.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>Yes, it is true that maps were not commonly made here. We had no need for them. The Underground is a small place and most monsters simply knew their way around.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>If you would like, I can direct us to Waterfall.</strong>
</p>
<p>Gaster watched Amira, awaiting her response. She may have been a little hasty in coming to the Underground today, rather than waiting until the next day and having Alphys as a guide. But by some turn of luck, she had stumbled upon Gaster. Amira smiled gratefully.</p>
<p>“Lead the way.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you all thought of this chapter, and of Gaster's introduction. As always, constructive criticism is always welcome too.</p>
<p>Till next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Waterfall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! Like I suspected I'm getting through these first few chapters fairly quickly! </p>
<p>Thanks to all of you who have been reading and have started to follow this story :)</p>
<p>I hope you enjoy this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira had been walking through Hotland with Gaster for almost half an hour, when she began to seriously regret not bringing more water. It was less unbearable now that she wasn’t standing directly above a sea of lava, but fire still scorched her bones, and the hot, dry wind whipped past her skin.</p>
<p>Gaster was walking – <em>gliding?</em> – beside her and had been directing her around the perimeter of the Core and through Hotland. She was definitely glad he was with her; as it turned out, the route to Waterfall was riddled with maze-like paths, and complex traps and puzzles. Amira was quite annoyed that none of this was on any of the maps she’d seen. She would have had to turn back a while ago had Gaster not been with her.</p>
<p>Speaking of Gaster; he really did know his way around Hotland. He knew how to navigate all the puzzles the pair encountered, and he knew all the shortcuts that would get them to Waterfall. Amira wondered if all of this was common knowledge to all monsters, or if Gaster specifically knew this area particularly well. She kept your thoughts to herself, however, as they continued their trek.</p>
<p>An uncomfortably rickety, wooden bridge stretched out before her. The fact that it was wooden and rickety wouldn’t have been such a problem, had the bridge not been for the express purpose of crossing a deep pit of scalding lava. Gaster stopped in front of it and gestured for her to cross. The woman stared at him incredulously for a good few seconds, wondering if he was serious. “This... looks like a bad idea. Are you sure this bridge is safe?” She voiced her concern, dark eyebrows furrowed. He smiled at her reassuringly, before taking to the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Although it looks unstable, this bridge is reinforced with magic, and has stood for as long as I can remember.</strong>
</p>
<p><em>Of course.</em> <em>Monsters have magi</em>c. “Ah, ok. Sorry, I’m just not really... used to magic.” Amira explained, before clenching her fists nervously and stepping out onto the bridge.</p>
<p>To be fair, she really wasn’t used to magic. Yes, it had been four years since monsters had come to the surface, but she didn’t personally know many. Besides Alphys (and, she supposed by extension, her girlfriend Undyne), Amira hadn’t really had the chance to meet or get to know any. Despite the advances that had been made, society was still quite segregated – many schools and universities didn’t accept monsters as students, many human landlords refused to rent to them, and lots of human employers wouldn’t hire them.</p>
<p>Because of this, many cities (including Ebott) had a ‘human side’ and a ‘monster side’ – and people didn’t tend to stray too far from where they were surrounded by others of their own ‘kind’. It was terrible, Amira knew – but what could she as just one person do?</p>
<p>Amira was pulled from her thoughts as she took the last step off the bridge and back onto solid ground. At first, she thought it might have just been her hopeful imagination, but as she and Gaster continued walking west, she noticed the temperature steadily dropping, the sweltering heat giving way to gentle warmth. She figured they must be near Waterfall. Amira turned to face Gaster, “We’re almost there, right? I can feel it getting cooler.” she exhaled with relief. He looked amused at her eagerness to escape the heat, and nodded, gesturing to a point ahead.</p>
<p>Amira followed his line of vision to see a rocky wall ahead, with a sort-of archway made of darker, blue-grey stone. She picked up her pace, eager to get out of Hotland and see Waterfall for the first time.</p>
<p>The moment she stepped through the doorway, she was met with a gust of cool air, and she let out a sigh of relief. She was now in a darker cave made of the same blue-grey stone. A huff left her mouth at the enormous, obnoxious ‘WELCOME TO HOTLAND’ sign that made up the right-hand wall of the cave. “No, thank you” she pointedly rolled her eyes at it, adjusting her glasses as she moved past. Gaster huffed lightly in agreement.</p>
<p>They both moved onwards – there was nothing Amira could really sample here. All she could see was rock, and she was no geologist. The pair walked together in silence for a bit, absorbing the far more pleasant, cool environment. They crossed several wooden bridges over dark gaping chasms of indeterminate depth, Amira’s attention divided between the stalactites hanging like dark icicles from the ceiling, and the stalagmites rising like jagged spines from the inky blackness.</p>
<p>Gaster looked to be in awe as much as she was. His strange, hollow eyes seemed to be drinking in the scenery, absorbing absolutely everything he could. <em>Had he never been here before?</em> <em>No, </em>Amira thought, <em>he directed me here</em>. Plus, hadn’t he said that monsters knew the whole Underground because of how small it was? Maybe he just hadn’t been here in a while.</p>
<p>All of Amira’s trains of thought derailed, however, as she turned the corner to see something that made her stop dead in her tracks. A sea of flowers that were almost as tall as she was (granted, she wasn’t particularly tall at a whopping 5’4”), each emitting bright blue light. Even stranger; the flowers seemed to be... <em>whispering?</em> All in different voices, speaking different words. It was incredibly eerie, but Amira was fascinated. She felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Gaster, who again, looked as amazed as she did. He held up the words he had written in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>They are called Echo Flowers and can be found throughout Waterfall. They are known to repeat the last thing they heard. </strong>
</p>
<p>“That’s... amazing! I – we don’t have anything like this on the surface.” Amira stumbled over her words, too incredulous to think clearly. “I need a sample.” She retrieved her sampling kit from her backpack and pulled out a new razor blade. She was somewhat nervous approaching an Echo Flower – she knew, logically that it was just a plant, but its imposing height, the eerie blue glow and the whispers it emitted made some small part of her brain think otherwise.</p>
<p>She hesitated for a moment. “Gaster,” she called out, “They won’t like... feel pain or anything, right? If I sample them?” The monster shook his head in reassurance, elaborating through the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Although they may seem sentient, Echo Flowers are merely plants. They are not sentient. They cannot feel pain as you or I can.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>“Ok, good to know. Just thought I’d better make sure.” Amira thanked him, still feeling a little uneasy around the ghostly floral chorus. The scientist carefully sliced a paper-thin piece of stem from a flower, placing it in a sample jar. She did the same to a petal. She cast her eyes to the ground, prepared to take a soil sample, but to her astonishment, there was no soil. The flowers’ ice blue roots simply snaked around the rock. She wondered how on Earth the Echo Flowers got their nutrients. Amira took a root sample as well and took some pictures of the area and the flowers themselves before turning to look for Gaster. She had been so absorbed in her work that she had forgotten he was even there</p>
<p>He looked absolutely enthralled. He was standing amongst the flowers, head bent down slightly to listen to what they were saying. The expression he wore was one Amira could only describe as pure joy. She couldn’t help but inwardly giggle at the incongruous picture before her – this large, dark, terrifying-looking monster... smiling at flowers. It was kind of cute.</p>
<p>She decided not to disturb him – he looked like he was enjoying himself. Instead, she spent a few more minutes listening to the Echo Flowers herself. She even managed to say ‘hello’ to one, and was thoroughly creeped out when it had parroted the word back to her in her own voice<em>. I’ve got to tell Quinn about this</em>. Although Amira suspected her long-time best friend would have a hard time believing any of this.</p>
<p>More than anything, Amira wanted to know how exactly the flowers worked, but she strongly suspected she would be met with the same answer that seemed to apply to so many aspects of the monster world – magic.</p>
<p>Amira felt a cold hand brush her shoulder lightly to get her attention. She twisted around to be met with the sight of Gaster’s awestruck smile. He had written something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I cannot thank you enough for offering to bring me here. It has been so long since I have been able to leave that place in Hotland. Truly, I am so grateful. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was struck with sadness at his words – exactly how long had he been stuck in Hotland? “Hey, I should be thanking you for showing me how to get here in the first place. I never would have made it here without you. But…” She considered her next words carefully as she absently tugged on the sleeve of her sweater, “exactly how long were you stuck in Hotland?” He cast his gaze down for a second, before writing his answer in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I am not certain of the exact length of time that transpired, but I suspect I was there for several years. </strong>
</p>
<p><em>Several years? </em>Amira was shocked into silence. She knew he had to have been in the Underground for at least four years to have never seen an adult human, but he had been in the exact same <em>place </em>in Hotland for all of that time? Maybe even longer? Her heart ached as everything was put into context. No wonder he was so wondrous and ecstatic about seeing all these places again.</p>
<p>“Shit, I’m… I’m so sorry,” she blurted, scratching the back of her neck. She was completely unsure of what to say in this situation. She had never been good with... people in general. “I had no idea. I must seem like such an asshole – I mean I’ve just been dragging you along while I do work, I haven’t even… I’ve barely had a proper conversation with you. I didn’t even ask if there was anywhere <em>you </em>wanted to go!” She was rambling again, twisting her fingers together. “<em>Is</em> there anywhere you want to go? Do you have like… family, or friends, or anyone I can help you find?” He stopped her there, wearing a pained expression at the mention of friends or family. He scribbled something down before showing it to Amira.</p>
<p>
  <strong>No, you have no reason to be sorry. I am in this position purely due to my own doing. It is no one’s fault but my own. I am very much enjoying your company, however, and I am perfectly happy to watch you work. As for friends or family – I do not have any. Not anymore. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was silent for a moment as she digested what she had read “… Ok. I’m sorry to hear that.” She decided to stop pressing, even though she had so many more questions. She didn’t want to upset him any more by dredging up bad memories. “… Shall we keep moving on, then?” She questioned, hoping to alleviate the dark mood that had settled over them. Gaster seemed to want to do the same, because gave her a grateful look, nodding. They walked on together in companionable silence.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Within about fifteen minutes of trekking through more rooms of the massive cave system, Amira found herself in what was easily one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen.</p>
<p>It was an expansive part of the cave, with the highest ceilings she’d seen, where the dark mossy floor was disrupted by several pools and channels. The water that filled them had an electric blue sheen, that Amira suspected was caused by some kind of bioluminescent algae. She could have jumped for joy. There was <em>so</em> much more to learn from a biologically rich place like this than bloody Hotland.</p>
<p>“This is amazing!” Amira voiced her thoughts, spinning around to face Gaster. “I’m gonna take <em>so</em> many samples.” Amused at her enthusiasm, he made a sweeping gesture around the cave as if to say ‘go nuts’. <em>Although he would probably say it more eloquently than that</em>, her mind supplied.</p>
<p>Amira started with the dark moss clinging to the rock beneath her feet, carefully using her razor blade to prise some off, before moving on to the water. <em>Water! </em>Despite the cooler climate here, Amira was still feeling quite dehydrated from the whole escapade in Hotland. She hesitated, however. “Hey, Gaster?” she asked, turning to face the former scientist, who was currently gazing down into another pool. He glanced up to meet her dark eyes. “Is this water drinkable?” He nodded, before turning to the notebook to elaborate.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is perfectly safe. Although you may want to avoid the algae on top. </strong>
</p>
<p><em>Was that his attempt at… a joke? </em>Amira glanced up to gauge his expression. Sure enough, he was grinning back at her. She snorted. “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” she grinned back. She pulled her bottle out of the bag, unscrewed the lid, and stuck it in the water, well below the algae. When it was full, she covered the opening with her hand and lifted it out of the water, grimacing at the sheen of slimy blue algae that now coated her hand. She shook it off, and quickly washed her hands to rid them of the remaining dirt from Hotland, before gulping down some much-needed water. After she had refilled the bottle again, Amira put it back in her bag, and took a couple of algae samples. She then grabbed the water testing kit and noted down a few key observations about the water quality. She also took a couple of water samples so she could analyse them in greater detail back at her lab.</p>
<p>Glancing around the cave, Amira figured that that was all the samples she would need from this area. Now it was time for her to just enjoy her surroundings. She pushed herself to her feet, brushing her wet palms off on her jeans. Gaster had moved, and was now seated beside a larger channel, lightly running a fingerless hand through the water. She approached him from the side, and sat down next to him, crossing her ankles. It was odd – normally, Amira would have preferred to be alone while she was gathering data for her research. Having other people around tended to annoy her when she was working – they were distracting, and always wanted to make pointless small-talk. But she was really enjoying Gaster’s company (and the feeling seemed to be mutual), and he had genuinely helped her a lot today. Amira had thought it several times already, but she was <em>really </em>glad she had found him.</p>
<p>“I was wondering...” she began, getting his attention, “the different ‘regions’ down here would have had completely different types of monsters in them, right?” She was curious, because on one hand, she had thought that with technology and magic monsters could have surpassed any natural limitations they might have had with regard to climate (just like humans had). But on the other hand, there was so much physical variety in monsters, and a lot of them seemed highly adapted to specific environments – perhaps monsters <em>did</em> only live in environments they were adapted to. Or maybe it was a combination of both.</p>
<p>Gaster seemed to follow Amira’s train of thought, because he launched into writing a lengthy explanation into the notebook. <em>I should really try to start learning some sign language before I come down next time.</em></p>
<p>
  <strong>Yes, you are correct. Though we could use our technology, and our magic to an extent, to enable ourselves to live in environments that we were not adapted to, many (but not all) monsters understandably chose to remain in the environments that suited their physiology best. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>For example, many reptilian monsters chose to live in Hotland, many amphibious and fish-like monsters lived here in Waterfall, and most mammalian monsters lived either here or in Snowdin. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>The monsters who chose to live in environments that they were not necessarily suited to used technology such as air conditioning and humidifiers to alter their homes and make their lives more comfortable.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira paused, wondering idly if Alphys had lived in Hotland. And if perhaps Undyne had lived somewhere around here. Maybe she would ask when she got back. “Makes sense,” she responded to Gaster thoughtfully, “Thanks.” She hesitated for a second, before letting her curiosity get the better of her. “Did you live in Hotland? Before you were stuck there, I mean?” His eyes flicked to the floor for a moment, betraying his shame, before writing in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>No, I did not live in Hotland, but I worked there. It was where my lab was located. I lived in Snowdin. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Snowdin, huh?” Amira picked herself up from the ground, “I’m pretty much done here – if I see anything else I want to sample on the way, I’ll do that, but why don’t we head over to Snowdin now? You must miss your home.” Gaster gave her a wistful smile, nodding once in response.</p>
<p>“Alright. Snowdin it is, then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright, up next is Snowdin! </p>
<p>Let me know what you thought of this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Snowdin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again! Thank you to everyone who's been reading, commenting, and leaving kudos :) <br/>Your support really motivates me!!</p>
<p>I hope you all like this chapter. We've got a little bit of sad times for poor Gaster happening here.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira and Gaster were steadily approaching an immense, dark wall of roaring water which crashed down into the river metres below them. Amira deduced that this must be the titular waterfall. They had made it here after a trek through the cave system, helpfully guided by Gaster (even though Waterfall was <em>nothing</em> like the intense hostility of Hotland with all its traps and puzzles). On the way, she had taken some quick samples – in a section with a soil-covered floor, she had sampled some luminescent blue mushrooms, some intimidatingly tall grass, and some of the soil itself. She had also taken samples of these lily pad-like flowers, which were apparently called ‘Bridge Seeds’, a couple of water samples, and some samples of strange-looking reed plants which Gaster informed her were called ‘Water Sausages’. Monsters seemed to be quite literal when it came to naming things.</p>
<p>The pair walked beside each other, across the pathway underneath the crashing waterfall. For a few seconds, Amira’s ears were filled with the unceasing roar of the rushing water (and, to a lesser extent, the constant static hum that seemed to accompany Gaster). And then they were out on the other side. Amira instinctively squinted at the bright light that met her eyes.</p>
<p>When her eyes adjusted, Amira realised that the light came from a narrow opening at what looked to be the end of the cave system. She turned her head to look at Gaster, who was shielding his eyes from the light with his amorphous hand as he became accustomed to the brightness. “This must be the end of Waterfall, right?” Amira questioned. Gaster lowered his hand, before nodding in affirmation. It may have been her imagination (or her difficulty reading his expressions), but Gaster almost seemed... anxious? Nervous? It made sense, of course – he was coming back to the place he had lived for the first time in god knows how long.</p>
<p>Keeping that in mind, Amira proceeded through the exit of the cave and was instantly met with snowflakes, landing on the top of her head, her shoulders, and, annoyingly, her glasses. In response to the sudden drop in temperature, Amira rolled the sleeves of her sweater back down and pulled her hair elastic out, arranging her hair so that it insulated her neck.</p>
<p>It struck her in that moment just how small the Underground really was. She realised she could walk across the entire thing from one side to another in around one and a half, maybe two hours. That realisation was totally incomprehensible when she considered just how many monsters had lived down there. <em>They must have been packed like sardines.</em> The thought upset her – it was completely unfair that monsters had escaped the Underground, only to be confined yet again on the Surface in an equally oppressive but completely different way.</p>
<p>Amira trudged through the snow, sobered by her thoughts. She spun around at the feeling of a large hand on her forearm. Gaster started slightly at her reaction. “Sorry,” she breathed, “I was a little out of it for a second there.” He pointed to something he’d written in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I do not wish to presume, but did you want to sample the trees here?</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira blinked. She lifted her head and scanned her surroundings. The path behind and ahead of them was covered in a thick layer of crisp snow, and to both their left and right were densely packed forests of what looked like pine trees. She chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Sorry, I really was completely lost in my head for a bit. Thanks for reminding me.” The monster brushed off Amira’s apology with a small wave of his hand. She jogged over to the trees, stumbling a little as her boots sunk into the snow, and began carefully slicing off pieces of bark and leaves, placing them gently into sampling jars. She also took some pictures for later reference. When she was done, she returned to Gaster, who currently had one large hand outstretched, collecting snowflakes as they fell. Some fell through the hole in his palm. If Amira were to guess, she would say he looked nostalgic.</p>
<p>When she approached, he drew his hand back and fell into step with her as she proceeded along the path. <em>Now</em>, Amira thought as a gust of freezing wind whipped through her hair, <em>I’m starting to feel glad that I wore a sweater</em>. She watched the trees as she continued walking – and suddenly something occurred to her. There was no sunlight down here. <em>How are any of these plants alive?</em> She cast her eyes up to the high ceiling in search of the light source and was immediately astonished with what she saw. The high, sloping roof of the cave was not rock at all; it was made of a strange, jagged, mirror-like material that both reflected and refracted the little light that was produced by the yellowish bioluminescent moss that grew up there. It was... pretty amazing.</p>
<p>The source of the snow, however, was a little more elusive to the human scientist. There weren’t even any clouds or anything – the snow just seemed to materialise at the top of the cave and fall down. Gaster must have noticed Amira’s puzzled expression targeted at the ceiling, because he began writing something in the notebook for her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>The snow is magical; it recycles itself. The layer at the bottom continuously disappears and is relocated to the roof, where it falls down again. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira couldn’t help but laugh. “Magic. Of course! That seems to be the answer to just about everything when it comes to monsters.” She shook her head good-naturedly. He seemed to understand her plight, because he laughed silently as she kept walking on.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before they reached the little town. It looked like it must have been cheerful and homely once upon a time, but now it was strangely silent and empty. They first passed a large, wooden house with a matching shed beside it. Gaster’s expression was unreadable as they both approached it. Its roof and door were lined with cheerful Christmas lights, which still glimmered red and green. Curiously, Amira noticed a skull-and-crossbones flag sticking out of the side of the roof. Some of the lights were also still on inside. “How is there still power down here?” she asked Gaster, incredulous. She had heard about the Core, and how it had provided clean energy to the Underground, <em>but surely it isn’t still running... is it</em>?</p>
<p>
  <strong>I do not believe that the Core was ever shut down. It is likely still supplying the Underground with energy. I was unsure whether it would be able to be completely self-sufficient – able to run without maintenance or extra cooling – but it seems to be maintaining itself well. </strong>
</p>
<p>Gaster looked almost... proud, at the revelation that the Core was still running. And the way he spoke about it seemed to Amira like he had been personally involved with running or maintaining the Core. He did say that he used to be a physicist. “Wow,” she was genuinely impressed, “that’s amazing. Humans would <em>kill</em> for that kind of technology. We’re kind of in the middle of an energy crisis.” Gaster looked intrigued, scribbling something down in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It may be difficult, but I have no doubt that a version of the Core could be replicated on the Surface. Has no one attempted that yet?</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira’s features formed a puzzled expression. “I don’t know. I assumed that it was impossible – because surely someone would have tried by now?” She honestly wasn’t sure. Well, that was something to store away in her mind for later. She would have to do some research, ask Alphys maybe. Gaster seemed to be mulling over her response – she could almost <em>feel</em> his mind whirring.</p>
<p>His eyes were still narrowed in thought as they kept moving through the town. They passed the ‘libarby’ – <em>library?</em> – and came to a fork in the path. Straight ahead seemed to be the way to the other end of Snowdin, but there was a path that led right, to a suburban area. Before Amira could make a decision, Gaster was heading right. He looked as if he was almost in a trance. <em>Maybe his house is somewhere there</em>, Amira reasoned<em>.</em> She wasn’t sure what would happen if Gaster got too far away from the grey thing in her bag, but she didn’t want to find out. She jogged to catch up with him.</p>
<p>He had stopped dead in the middle of a clearing, staring at an empty lot to his right. His features formed a mask of utter devastation. Amira wasn’t sure whether she should ask him what was wrong and try to console him, or if she should leave be, in case he didn’t want to be disturbed. Eventually, she plucked up the courage to approach him. “Hey,” she began softly, getting his attention, “is... is everything ok?” He kept his eyes on the empty space for a moment, before writing in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I used to live here. My house used to be here. Now it is just... gone. </strong>
</p>
<p>She didn’t know what to say to that. She couldn’t even imagine going home one day, only to find her apartment, her pet, all her belongings, <em>everything</em> – just gone.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It feels as if... the world simply moved on without me. As if everybody I ever cared about forgot about me. As if I never existed. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was silent for a minute. <em>What can I even say to that? </em>“I’m so sorry.” Her words rang hollow in her mind. She hesitated for a second, before placing a hand on his arm. It was cool to the touch and felt like what she could only describe as kind-of solid water. He seemed a little stunned at first, but accepted her touch. She stood beside him in quiet sympathy and solidarity. She wasn’t quite sure how exactly long they stood there, but eventually, Gaster let out a slow breath, and wrote something down.</p>
<p>
  <strong>We should keep moving if you want to see the rest of Snowdin today and make it back to the Surface at a reasonable time. </strong>
  
</p>
<p>Amira nodded and took her hand off of him, readjusting her glasses. He turned away from the spot where his home used to be, and they both walked back to the main area of the town. Even though he had physically moved away from his old home, Amira could sense that he was still ruminating on it. On the fact that the world had gone on without him, and that it barely seemed to notice his absence. She decided to let him be – he seemed to want her to forget about it.</p>
<p>So Amira turned her attention back to the town. They were passing what looked to be a bar or a restaurant with a large hand-painted sign across the top which read ‘GRILLBY’S’. For some reason, that name sounded familiar to her. <em>Isn’t there a bar on the monster side of town called Grillby’s?</em> She had never been (she would have felt far too out of place), but she had walked past it a couple of times. It must have been run by the same person who had run this one. The pair also passed an enormous Christmas tree (which, like the house they had seen before, was strung with Christmas lights which still shone brightly with colours) and an inn, and then they were out of the small town.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there wasn’t much for Amira to sample in Snowdin. This became apparent to her as she continued walking west, boots disturbing the thick, pristine snow. The whole area was populated only with dense forests of the same pine trees she had already sampled. Nevertheless, she persisted onwards. Gaster was still silent, deep in thought beside her.</p>
<p>Soon enough, the two entered an area where the pine trees dropped away, and were replaced by thin, dark, towering trees which brushed the vaulted ceiling of the cave. “I’m just going to sample these quickly,” Amira murmured, leaving the path to slice off some pieces of bark. The leaves were far too high for her to reach, but there were a few that had been shed onto the floor. They were less ideal than the ones still attached to the trees, but they would have to do. Amira also took a couple of pictures of the area.</p>
<p>When she was done, she flashed a quick grateful smile towards Gaster for waiting (not that he could have moved away from the grey thing in her bag anyway), before proceeding down the icy path. It wasn’t much longer before they reached a large purplish stone structure with an archway at the entrance, which, unlike the cave system, looked to be deliberately constructed, rather than naturally occurring. Amira knew from the maps she had studied that this must have been the Ruins.</p>
<p>She had considered exploring them, but had ultimately decided that there probably wouldn’t be anything useful to sample inside. Besides, even if there were, it wouldn’t be conducive to Amira’s research. To her understanding, no one had lived in the Ruins, so there was no reason to study it as an environment which would have impacted the evolutionary progress of monsters. She figured that she might go at some point in the future, just to see what it was like, but she wanted to get back home for dinner and she had a feeling she had been here far too long. Amira checked the time on her phone – 3:14. Not too bad. It would take her about an hour and a half to walk back to the Underground’s entrance, and another hour to drive home. If she headed back now, she would be making good time.</p>
<p>But – there was still the conundrum of Gaster. He could only move around with Amira if she had the grey object. Otherwise, he was essentially stuck in one spot. <em>Like he was stuck in Hotland for at least four years,</em> Amira thought guiltily. She decided to bring it up to him and let him decide what he wanted to do. “I think I’ve got all the samples I need for today, so I should probably be heading off now. But I would feel awful just leaving you here, even if I am coming back in another week or so. So, what do <em>you</em> want to do? You could stay here in Snowdin, or anywhere else in the Underground – you could even come up to the Surface with me! That way you wouldn’t be stuck in one spot, and you wouldn’t have to be alone...” she trailed off, self-consciously cutting off her own rambling. Gaster offered a small smile, before writing down a response.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I would prefer not to stay in Snowdin; I have too many memories connected to this place that I would rather not re-live. As much as I appreciate your offer to take me to the Surface with you, I cannot accept it. Again, there are many <strike>people</strike> things there that I cannot yet face. I would be grateful if you simply left me in Waterfall on your way back, in the field of Echo Flowers. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira desperately wanted to know what on Earth had happened to land Gaster in this awful position. Why he carried such an air of melancholy about him. What he had done to make himself think that he deserved this. But she knew if she asked now, she wouldn’t get any answers, and would risk damaging the fragile, tentative trust they had developed. So she just nodded, and replied “Of course I’ll take you back to Waterfall. Let’s get going.” He seemed to appreciate Amira’s lack of questioning, and they began the trek back to Waterfall.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>About 45 minutes had passed by the time the pair reached the Echo Flower field. The room swelled with the flowers’ whispers, forming a strange chorus amidst the eerie silence of the cave system. The electric blue glow that was emitted by the flowers enveloped the whole room, making it feel dreamlike and surreal to Amira.</p>
<p>She stopped in the middle of the sea of flowers. “Well,” she began with an air of finality, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, “Here we are.” She hesitated, but then spoke again. “Listen – are you sure you want me to leave you here? Are you sure you don’t want to come to the Surface?” Gaster smiled ruefully, before responding through the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I am sure. You plan on coming back to the Underground for further research, do you not?</strong>
</p>
<p>He waited for Amira’s confirmation, which she gave with a nod, before continuing.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Then perhaps one day, when I am ready, I will come up with you. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira breathed out through her nose, upset and mildly frustrated that she couldn’t convince him to come with her. She just felt so bad about having to leave him here. <em>But what more can I do? </em>She noticed Gaster taking to the notebook once more as she unzipped her backpack to retrieve the grey object.</p>
<p>She gently grasped the grey thing, feeling its smooth, rippling surface beneath her fingers. Amira lifted it from her bag and held it delicately in both hands, inwardly relishing in its coolness on her palms. Gaster turned the notebook to her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me today. Because of you, I have been able to move around the Underground again and speak to another person for the first time in many years. So thank you, Amira. </strong>
</p>
<p>The human gave him a half-smile, touched at his gratitude, but still sad that she had to leave him here. “Don’t mention it. Thank <em>you</em> for coming with me and guiding me through this place! I would never have made it any further than Hotland on my own.” He nodded, before seemingly realising something.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Will you be alright traversing Hotland on your own? Do you remember the path we took, and the solutions to the puzzles?</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira wasn’t sure she did - not completely, anyway. She had always been awful with directions. But seeing the concern on his face, she decided to lie for his sake – she really didn’t want him to have to spend another week or so in Hotland just because she couldn’t remember the exact way. “Yeah, I remember. I’ll be fine!”, she spoke with a confidence she didn’t feel. “I’ll be back in about a week, once I’ve had a good look at the initial samples I’ve got. So, I guess... I’ll see you then.” Gaster wrote his response down and turned the notebook to show her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alright. I will see you in a week. Goodbye, Amira.</strong>
</p>
<p>She gave him a small wave and a parting grin, before gently placing the grey thing on the ground, and beginning her trip back to the Surface.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! </p>
<p>Amira's off back to the surface next chapter - we're going to learn a bit more about her and her research, and pay another visit to Alphys. Don't worry, though, Gaster will be back very soon!</p>
<p>Let me know what you thought of this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Home Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another quick update! </p>
<p>Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's a bit of a chill one, but sets up some important things for later in the story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took Amira longer than she had originally thought to walk back through the rest of Waterfall, and through Hotland and the following castle area because she had taken a couple of wrong turns and had to backtrack a little. But eventually, she found herself on the steep, rocky upwards climb through the cave back up to the Surface. As she had suspected earlier, climbing back up this path was <em>much</em> more difficult than coming down had been. Amira slipped a couple of times on loose rocks, and her thighs were really beginning to burn with all the steep uphill climbing.</p>
<p>Amira’s face broke into a beaming smile as a pinprick of natural light appeared ahead. Suddenly re-energised, she picked up her pace and emerged from the darkness of the cave. She felt a rush of fresh air, and the late afternoon sunlight on her face. She could only imagine how it must have felt for the monsters to reach this point after spending so many years Underground.</p>
<p>A sigh slipped past her lips as she saw her behemoth of a car parked a few metres away, which had been sitting in the scorching sun all day. No doubt it would feel like an oven inside. It hadn’t even occurred to Amira in all her excitement that morning to park in the shade. Deciding that there was no point in delaying the inevitable, she unlocked the car, opened the door, and climbed inside. As predicted, it was almost unbearable inside – the biologist couldn’t even touch the steering wheel without burning her hands.</p>
<p>Amira immediately started the engine to get the air conditioning going, and when it was cooler, began the long trip back home.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>When she got back to her apartment, Amira was starving. She had eaten an apple that morning on the way to uni, and a couple of muesli bars as she was exploring the Underground with Gaster, but she hadn’t had a substantial meal all day. She had planned on buying lunch at the university, but of course she hadn’t factored in her impromptu journey to the Underground. The thought of having to cook when she was so exhausted was draining, but she was so damn <em>hungry</em>.</p>
<p>Amira pulled the fridge door open, pursing her lips at its sparse contents. <em>I suppose I could make a stir fry with some of the vegetables in here</em>. Her mind began to drift as she organised the ingredients and started preparing her meal. She couldn’t help but wonder what Gaster was doing at that moment. Of course, Amira knew he would still be in the Echo Flower field – he physically couldn’t have moved from there. <em>Is he still listening to the Echo Flowers?</em> Well, that was all he really <em>could</em> do, Amira supposed. Her heart sank when she really thought about that – he would be sitting in the field, listening to the flowers for a week straight before she came back down for him.</p>
<p>She switched off the stove when she decided the food looked cooked enough and spooned it onto a plate. Barely waiting for the stir fry to cool down, Amira shovelled it into her mouth. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been so desperate to eat a meal. As soon as she was finished, she got up to take a shower, peeling her sweater and jeans off (which were both filthy at this point). The shower was long and relaxing, the hot water soothing her tired muscles, and Amira relished every minute of it. Once she was satisfied that the sweat and grime had been washed off her completely, she reluctantly turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, drying herself and changing into the pair of shorts and t-shirt she often slept in.</p>
<p>Cursing softly, she realised she had forgotten to unpack her samples. It was too late to go to the lab now, so Amira decided she would keep them in her fridge overnight and take them to the lab for analysis with her tomorrow morning. Not the most professional of moves, but it was all she could really do. Padding softly into her living room, the exhausted woman curled up in her large armchair beside the fish tank which housed her little catfish. She tucked her legs underneath her, grimacing at how sore they were. For a few minutes straight, Amira simply watched May with fondness as she snuffled around on the bottom of the tank. This was one of her favourite pastimes – she found it so relaxing, just watching May living her life without a care in the world.</p>
<p>Again, her mind began to drift to Gaster. She <em>really</em> needed try and learn some sign language before she went to the Underground again in a week. It was kind of cumbersome trying to communicate via notebook – not to mention, Amira felt bad that she couldn’t understand him when he spoke in the way that was likely the most natural and convenient for him. <em>But I’m way too tired tonight. Maybe I’ll start learning tomorrow after work. </em></p>
<p>Amira shifted in her armchair, diverting her eyes from May to the TV on the wall in front of her. Right now, she felt like the only thing she could do was watch some mindless TV. So that’s exactly what she did – she pulled up Netflix and started playing her favourite trashy show, ready to just switch her brain off for a while. Before Amira could really get into it, though, she heard her phone vibrating on the dinner table. Her head lolled back in frustration, but she ultimately switched the TV off and heaved herself up to go answer it. Despite her legs’ protests, she was glad that she did when she saw the caller ID – it was Quinn!</p>
<p>Quinn had been Amira’s friend in the last couple of years of high school and was one of the only people she had stayed in contact with since then. Quinn was like the yin to Amira’s yang – while Amira was kind of shy, introverted, and awkward, Quinn was completely bubbly and outgoing. She had a magnetic personality – one of those people that everyone just couldn’t help but like. She always liked to tease that she ‘adopted’ introverts like Amira. It was true, in a way. Amira hadn’t spoken to her in a while, so she was ecstatic that her friend was calling.</p>
<p>“Hey! How’re you doing?” she relaxed back into her armchair as she answered the phone.</p>
<p>“Amira, hi!” she heard Quinn’s cheerful voice on the other end, which instantly lifted her mood. “I’m doing great. I got to watch a dolphin autopsy yesterday, so... that was a new experience.” She chuckled. Quinn was a zookeeper, and so always had <em>many</em> fascinating experiences. It felt like every time she called, she had a new story to share. In fact, Amira herself had volunteered at a zoo back home with Quinn for 2 years – she had her own fair share of interesting stories from those times.</p>
<p>“Sounds like fun.” Amira responded, “still enjoying being on Carnivores, though? I know you were a little unsure about it at first...” she trailed off.</p>
<p>“Loving it.” Quinn replied with no hesitation. “Right now, this is something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life, to be honest.” The biologist smiled, glad that her friend was happy.</p>
<p>Before she could say something back, Quinn continued, rapidly firing off several questions, “How’s your life, though? Anything interesting to report? Made any more progress on your research? Any new friends? You know you really need to get out there and talk to more people.” It was true – since she had moved away from her home and her friends to Ebott for her research, Amira had had a lot of trouble getting to know more people. Alphys was one of her only friends in Ebott - the rest of her friends were all back home.</p>
<p>She laughed at Quinn’s excitement, and began answering her questions one-by-one. “Life’s great! And actually – you called at exactly the right time – <em>god</em> do I have something to report. My application for permission to enter the Underground was accepted today! Quinn, I actually got to go to the Underground today!” she paused, allowing her friend to gasp and cheer in excitement.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, Amira, that’s <em>huge</em>!” she exclaimed. “Congratulations! So, how was it? Did you make any breakthroughs? Learn anything new? Did you take lots of pictures to send me?”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Quinn,” Amira responded sincerely. “It was incredible. Today was mostly just a lot of sample-taking – I haven’t actually had the chance to analyse anything yet. That all starts tomorrow. But the Underground... it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen up here. It’s so completely unique and diverse and... You really have to see it to believe it. I did take lots of pictures, though! I can message some to you later.” She paused her excitement-fuelled rambling, wondering whether she should tell Quinn about Gaster.</p>
<p>Part of Amira wondered if he’d mind her telling others about him – not that he’d said anything to indicate that, but she kind of felt like he should be... secret. Private. But Amira hushed that part of herself, telling herself silently that she was being ridiculous. Besides, Quinn <em>had</em> asked if she had made any new friends. She wasn’t sure she could call Gaster a friend just yet, but she felt like maybe she could in the future. She had <em>talked </em>to him, after all. And he seemed like a sweet person, overall – even if he obviously had some unresolved issues, and a mysterious past.</p>
<p>“Actually, I met someone down there,” Amira began slowly.</p>
<p>“Wait, what? In the Underground? I thought there was no one left down there.” Quinn’s tone betrayed her confusion.</p>
<p>“Yeah, so did I. But I found this guy down there. A monster, obviously. He said he wasn’t ready to come to the surface. But he helped me find my way through the Underground – seriously, there is so much crazy shit down there that just isn’t on the maps.” Amira shook her head. “He was with me the whole day. He said his name was W.D. Gaster.” She paused for a second. <em>What does the W.D. even stand for?</em> It hadn’t occurred to her to ask at the time – she had just taken to calling him ‘Gaster’. <em>But is that actually his surname or something?</em> She would have to ask when she went back down.</p>
<p>“That’s... strange,” Quinn replied, thoughtful. “But he helped you. Anyway, good for you! Talking to people, making new friends. Seriously, you do need more friends in Ebott. You know, people to spend your free time with! Have fun with!” Amira hummed, deciding not to tell Quinn about Gaster’s strange predicament of not being able to move away from the mysterious grey object. “Anyway,” her friend said, “I’ve gotta go. I have like a million things to do tomorrow, so I really need to get my shit together. Don’t forget to send me those pictures of the Underground!”</p>
<p>Amira laughed, “Ok, ok. See you, Quinn.”</p>
<p>“See you, Amira!” she chirped, before hanging up.</p>
<p>Amira felt a lot less tired after her conversation. Maybe Quinn was right; she needed more of this. More light, carefree moments with friends. More opportunities to share what was going on in her life with people who actually cared. She put the phone on the side table where May’s tank rested and turned the TV back on. Time for a perfect quiet evening of laziness and crappy shows.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira’s eyes snapped open at the shrill blaring of her phone’s alarm. After yesterday morning’s rushed panic, she had decided she was never making the mistake of not setting an alarm again. She groaned, and fumbled for her phone, switching the alarm off and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. <em>8:30</em>. She had a comfortable one hour to get ready and get to work. She planted her feet on the floor and got up to start her morning routine.</p>
<p>It was 9:02 by the time Amira had gotten dressed, eaten a quick breakfast, packed some lunch, brushed her teeth and gathered her work things, including yesterday’s samples. She was making good time. She moved to the living room and shook some food into May’s tank, watching as the catfish emerged from her hiding spot inside the fake log Amira had bought her. “Good morning, sweetie!” Amira greeted. She could never <em>not</em> use pet-names for May – her fish baby was just too precious.</p>
<p>As she walked out of her apartment, Amira grabbed her lab-coat from the hook beside the door where she had left it after coming home last night. The walk to uni was nowhere near as rushed as it had been the previous day, and it was just about time for work to start when she arrived. She buzzed herself into her lab, slipping on her lab-coat and tying back her hair before removing the samples from her backpack and arranging them on the bench space. Before Amira started her analysis, though, she decided to pay a quick visit to her neighbour.</p>
<p>She left her own lab and made the short trip down the hallway to Alphys’ lab, rapping a quick knock on her door. “C-come in!” she heard the lizard monster call quietly. Amira pushed the door open with her hip, and smiled at the lizard monster, who was currently tinkering with a machine on her bench. Amira had only been into Alphys’ lab a few times – it was always packed with intricate, complex machines that she had built. Amira was <em>not</em> mechanically-minded, and had no clue what half of Alphys’ machines even did. So, she had made a habit of asking Alphys about a different invention each time she visited. It was kind of a tradition, at this point.</p>
<p>“Hey Alphys!” she greeted, before her dark eyes caught a small, white machine with a glass chamber, a keypad, and a screen. It was secluded in the corner of the lab, tucked behind other inventions – almost like it was being hidden. “What does this do?” Amira asked her, distracted, navigating her way to it. She didn’t miss Alphys’ quickly masked expression of discomfort – it occurred to Amira then that maybe this machine was ‘hidden’ for a reason. “Um... it’s... it’s called a soul tracker.” She mumbled, tail nervously swishing from side-to-side. “I don’t use it anymore. It’s k-kind of an invasion of privacy...” she trailed off, before rushing to explain. “I built it in the Underground, to – to track Frisk. Y-you know, the ambassador?” Amira nodded – she knew of the human child who had somehow freed the monsters and become their representative, of sorts. “It... you just have to get a reading of someone’s soul, and you can... track it’s location...” she stopped for a second, evaluating Amira’s reaction. “But! I haven’t used it s-since Frisk. And I don’t plan to. So...” she wrung her hands together, looking embarrassed.</p>
<p>Amira was admittedly a little unnerved that Alphys had made something like that to track a child. But she was clearly ashamed that she had made it, and clearly didn’t plan on using it in the future. So Amira tried to make things less awkward. “Well... It’s pretty impressive, even if it is a little... intrusive.” The woman cringed at herself. “Anyway,” she turned away from the soul tracker, toeing her way back towards Alphys. “I came to tell you about yesterday!” Alphys brightened immediately, seemingly eager to hear about her trip.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah!” the monster grinned, “How was it? D-did you get all the samples you needed?”</p>
<p>“I did! I’m going to analyse them today!” Amira perked up, “Alphys, it was so amazing down there. So completely different than it is up here. I can’t wait to go back down.” She stopped for a second – should she tell Alphys about Gaster? <em>Maybe she knows who he was. Maybe she can find some way to help him.</em> Amira decided to bite the bullet. “Actually, there was someone down there.” Alphys looked shocked.</p>
<p>“W-what?” she stuttered, “I thought everybody came to the Surface.”</p>
<p>“He said he wasn’t ready to come up yet,” Amira explained, “His name was W.D. Gaster – he said he was a scientist. Did you know him, by any chance?”</p>
<p>Alphys was silent for a minute. She furrowed her reptilian brow in deep thought. “Th-that name sounds... familiar...” she looked disturbed. “I... I don’t think I know him, but... For some reason, I feel like I <em>should</em> know.” Alphys was looking more and more troubled by the second. “It’s like... on the tip of my tongue... but...” she sighed, frustrated, “Why can’t I remember?” She looked thoroughly unsettled. Amira decided to just change the subject – this seemed to be upsetting her.</p>
<p>“Well, anyway,” Amira said in a more animated tone, “I just wanted to thank you for bringing the permit to me yesterday. I should really get to analysing those samples now.” Alphys slipped out of her state of unease. “N-no problem, Amira. I’ll see you later!” she smiled and waved a clawed hand as the biologist left the lab.</p>
<p>Finally, it was time for Amira to take a look at those samples!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter, Amira will meet Sans and Papyrus, and spend some more time with Alphys and Undyne - so hopefully you're looking forward to that!</p>
<p>Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Friends?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone! </p>
<p>This chapter, Amira gets to meet Sans and Papyrus! Hope you all enjoy this one - Gaster will be back next chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira stretched her arms over her head, and glanced backwards at the clock. It was definitely time to be heading home for the day. She got up from her stool, and started packing away her samples, her microscope, and her other equipment. As she pulled her lab coat off and went to wash her hands before leaving, the door to the lab was flung open with a bang. Amira started, splashing water all over herself.</p>
<p>“Shit...” she murmured, before shutting the water off and turning to see who it was.</p>
<p>“HEY, PUNK!” yelled a raspy, yet feminine voice. As Amira suspected, Undyne – Alphys’ tall, fishy, <em>loud</em> girlfriend – had just barged into her lab. Alphys stood outside the door, giving the human an apologetic smile. Amira was kind of used to Undyne’s... eccentricities, as it was rare to go for a week without her visiting her girlfriend at work. Nevertheless, the human woman was a little startled.</p>
<p>“Hi, Undyne.” Amira replied, giving her a small wave. “Nice to see you again.” Undyne flashed a sharp, toothy smile at her, striding into the lab to talk to her properly as Alphys followed. “So, you and Alphy are friends. Which means you and I are also friends.” Undyne stated matter-of-factly.</p>
<p>“I... guess so, yeah?” Amira responded, not quite sure what she was getting it. She wasn’t quite sure she would classify Undyne as a <em>friend</em> yet – maybe a friendly acquaintance?</p>
<p>“Friends hang out with each other OUTSIDE work, right?” Undyne emphasised.</p>
<p>“Right...” Amira parroted slowly.</p>
<p>“So you should hang out with us! We’re goin’ to Grillby’s for dinner tomorrow with a couple friends – come with us!” she grinned, anticipating the human’s response.</p>
<p>Amira was rendered speechless for a moment – <em>Alphys and Undyne are... inviting me to dinner with their friends?</em> She felt oddly touched that they would do that. That they actually wanted her around. “Yeah, of course.” She smiled appreciatively at them both. “I’d love to!”</p>
<p>“AWESOME!” Undyne yelled, startling Amira again. “Meet us at Grillby’s at 7 tomorrow, ok? C’mon Alphy!” she turned away, marching out of the door. Alphys scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, before attempting to explain. “U-uh... Undyne has been trying to get me to make friends at work, and... especially human friends, you know? But! D-don’t feel obligated to come, if you don’t want t-to...” she trailed off, eyes downcast.</p>
<p>“No! Honestly, I’d love to come.” Amira reassured the lizard monster quickly. She smiled, relieved, and hurried out of the lab to catch up with Undyne.</p>
<p>Amira breathed out deeply as she realised what she had just agreed to. <em>This... is good, right?</em> She was making friends. Now that she thought about it – this would be the first time she’d ever gone out with other people since she had moved to Ebott. <em>Yes, this is definitely a good thing. </em></p>
<p>With a smile on her face, Amira dried her hands and began the walk home. She had gotten a lot done today. Her samples revealed that the water in Waterfall was incredibly high in nutrients – abnormally so. She supposed this explained how so many of the plants (including the Echo Flowers) there were able to grow without any soil – they got their nutrients straight from the water. The next time the biologist went down, she would have to look around for the source of the water – try and see how it became so nutrient-rich. She had also found, to no surprise, that Hotland’s soil was almost totally devoid of nutrients. It made sense that there were no plants there, with that knowledge. But it made Amira wonder; aside from its scorching temperature, what was the advantage of Hotland for reptilian monsters? What was their food source? Or did they just import all their food from the other areas of the Underground? More questions she would need to search for answers to when she was down there next. One of the more puzzling things she had observed was that none of the trees in Snowdin, nor any of the plants in Waterfall, had any chloroplasts. Another mystery to be solved – how did Underground plants get their energy, if not by photosynthesis?</p>
<p>Amira needed all of this information to build a bigger picture of the Underground – to understand the environment, and therefore how and why monsters evolved to be the way they were. To her understanding, monsters were far less diverse than they were now before they were forced Underground by humans, hundreds of years ago. She knew this from historical writings and artworks. Her current line of thought was that the extreme environments of the Underground had forced monsters to adapt rapidly, to vastly different environmental conditions, resulting in the diversity that could be seen in monsters today. But before she could conclude anything, she really needed to get more information.</p>
<p>Amira pushed her glasses up as she unlocked her front door, letting herself into the apartment. She hung up her lab coat on the hook by the door, and made a beeline for her trusty armchair, carrying her laptop under one arm. She sat down, tucking her feet underneath her, brown eyes searching for May in her fish tank. As usual, the timid catfish was relaxing inside her log. Satisfied that her companion was alright, Amira resolved that she needed to start learning sign language today. She wanted to have made <em>some</em> progress by the time she saw Gaster again. At the very least, how to recognise some basic signs – ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘hello’, and so on.</p>
<p>So she opened her laptop and pulled up YouTube, starting the search for tutorials. It was going to be a long night.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira spun in her stool at the lab restlessly. Since being invited to dinner with Alphys and Undyne and their friends yesterday, she couldn’t keep the anticipation for it out of her head. She was nervous and excited, and was having trouble focussing on her work because of it. She had been doing a closer analysis of her samples and writing up all of her findings and hypotheses so far into a draft report. The draft was pretty much finished – but it had taken Amira longer than it should have. The whole day, in fact. It was time for her to head home and start getting ready for the dinner.</p>
<p>An endless stream of anxious thoughts roiled in her mind as she left the lab and started the walk home. <em>What if Alphys and Undyne’s friends don’t like me? What if that makes Alphys and Undyne not like me? What if their friends... hate humans or something? Do they even know I’m a human? Do they even know I’m coming at all?</em> She felt like so much could go wrong tonight. <em>But things could go really well, too</em>, a small part of her mind helpfully reminded her as she pushed her apartment door open.</p>
<p>Amira was supposed to meet them at Grillby’s at 7. A quick visit to Google Maps told her that it would take around twenty minutes to walk there – so she had an hour and a half to get ready. She nodded to herself, before heading off to take a quick shower. Once she was out and dry, she faced the dilemma of what to wear. <em>Grillby’s isn’t a super fancy place... is it?</em> The scientist had never actually been inside, only walked past it once or twice. <em>But I shouldn’t dress too casual in case I show up underdressed. I want to make a good impression, after all.</em> Eventually, she settled on a pair of black boots, some jeans, and a blouse. Not too fancy, and not too casual. She checked the time on her phone – it was just about time to leave.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira checked Google Maps on her phone to see that she was about ten minutes away from Grillby’s. At this point, she was most definitely in the ‘monster side’ of town, as it had been unofficially dubbed. This wasn’t the first time she had been here – not that she came often – but it was the first time that she was so acutely aware of her own <em>humanness</em>. Everyone around her was a monster, all the homes and shops around her were owned by monsters. And people were looking at her; probably wondering what her business here was. Looking at her as if to say: what is this human doing here? She didn’t feel antagonised or aggressed - more like people were confused. Curious.</p>
<p>Amira brushed it off and kept walking. Hopefully Alphys and Undyne would be there by the time she got there – so she could distract herself with conversation rather than awkwardly feeling everyone’s curious gazes on her.</p>
<p>It wasn’t much longer before an unmistakable rough voice met Amira’s ears. “So then I told him to just SUCK IT UP!” <em>Yep. Definitely Undyne</em>. The human woman rushed around the corner, eager to meet her friends. Alphys was the first to notice her, eyes lighting up as she waved Amira over. Undyne had her back to her at first, but at Alphys’ wave, turned to face the human as a shark-like grin split her face. “NERD!” she greeted the human woman enthusiastically, waving her over as well. It looked like it was just the two of them so far – evidently their friends hadn’t arrived yet. “Hey guys!” Amira greeted them with a small smile.</p>
<p>“W-we should go inside now,” Alphys said, “Sans and Papyrus will j-join us inside when they get here.” <em>Sans and Papyrus... they must be the other friends.</em></p>
<p>“Ok, sweet.” Amira agreed as the three of them entered the restaurant together.</p>
<p>The first thing Amira noticed once they were inside was that Grillby’s was <em>packed</em>. It was obviously quite popular. The second thing she noticed was that she was literally the only human there. <em>Stop it!</em> She chided herself. She had to stop consciously making distinctions between humans and monsters. <em>So what if I’m the only human here? I’m certainly not the only <span class="u">person</span> here. </em>With that thought, Amira followed Undyne and Alphys as they led her to a large booth in the corner of the room.</p>
<p>“You know, I’ve never actually been in here before.” She told them. Undyne cackled in response. “Yeah, that’s not surprising. We don’t get many humans here.”</p>
<p>“B-but it’s good that you’re here, Amira” Alphys cut in softly. Amira nodded in agreement, leaning back in her seat.</p>
<p>“ANYWAY!” Undyne yelled, slapping her webbed palms on the table, “Forget the serious stuff. We’re here to have fun!” Amira laughed at her ham-fisted attempt to change the topic, but went along with it.</p>
<p>“So, these friends who are coming... Sans and Papyrus?” the biologist asked, “Tell me a little about them before they show up.”</p>
<p>“heh. too late, kid.” A deep voice came from behind her, making her jump. To Amira’s astonishment, she was faced with two skeletons. Or – not quite skeletons. Their proportions were a little different, and they seemed a lot more animated and expressive than actual skeletons. The one who had just spoken was short (probably a little shorter than her) and wore a large blue hoodie, and an even larger grin. The other one was <em>massive</em> – he had to be at least seven feet tall and was kind of intimidating. Until he opened his mouth.</p>
<p>“HUMAN!” he greeted Amira, before bending down and lifting her straight out of her seat and into a hug “IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU.” Embarrassingly, Amira let out an involuntary squeal when her feet left the ground. She tried to play it cool, though. “Uh, thanks! It’s nice to meet you too. Both of you.” She shot a quick smile at the other monster. The taller skeleton put her back down gently, as she continued. “My name’s Amira.”</p>
<p>“HELLO, AMIRA. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” the tall one mentioned with a flourish. “AND THIS IS MY BROTHER, SANS.” He gestured to the shorter one. Sans nodded to her in greeting.</p>
<p>“Sit down, noobs!” Undyne stood from her seat opposite Amira, wringing Papyrus into a headlock and pulling him down into the seat next to her. Sans opted to take the seat to Amira’s left.</p>
<p>She began scanning the menu, trying to quickly decide on what to order. Everyone else at the table already seemed to know what they wanted without even having to look at the menu. Grillby’s seemed like a classic, fast-food burger joint. <em>Perfect</em>. Amira was in the mood for some unhealthy, greasy food right now. But there were so many choices! She felt a nudge on her left arm, turning to see Sans grinning up at her. She wondered idly if he was actually smiling, or if that was just the way his face was. “i’d recommend the classic burger. it’s the best thing here. <strong>tibia</strong> honest, i don’t think anyone ever orders anything else.” Amira snorted at the terrible pun but smiled gratefully at him.</p>
<p>“Thanks. Does it have meat, though? I’m a vegetarian.” She explained.</p>
<p>“nah. we monsters don’t really eat meat. mostly just a lotta plants that kinda look like meat. and sometimes bugs.” Sans reassured her. Amira was surprised by this at first, but it made sense when she started to think about it. <em>What kind of meat could they have eaten down there anyway?</em></p>
<p>“Alright,” she said, “Classic burger it is, then.”</p>
<p>A monster with a giraffe-like neck came over to take orders (and Sans was right – <em>everyone</em> ordered the classic burger). As the group settled into casual conversation – well, as casual as it could get with two personalities as eccentric as Undyne and Papyrus’ – Amira felt the tension in her body begin to melt away. She had been so anxious that these monsters wouldn’t like her, but they were surprisingly chill.</p>
<p>It was only about twenty minutes before all the food came, and those twenty minutes were filled with light conversation, introductions, laughs, and <em>terrible</em> skeleton puns from Sans (closely followed by indignant screeching from Papyrus). All in all, it was a lot of fun.</p>
<p>When the food did come to the table, Amira couldn’t help but notice how good it looked and smelled. She paused for a moment, looking at the two skeleton monsters. <em>How do they eat? Wouldn’t the food just, like... fall out?</em> She was tempted to ask, but wasn’t sure if that would be rude. She picked up her own burger and took a bite. It was amazing – she had never tasted anything like it before. Well, it tasted a bit like a Beyond burger, but as soon as she swallowed it, she felt a strange but pleasant tingling sensation in her throat. It might have been her imagination, but it seemed like the food might have been dissolving before it actually reached her stomach.</p>
<p>Alphys seemed to notice Amira’s confused delight, because she leaned over the table to explain. “A-all monster food is made from magic. It’s not l-like human food, in that way. Magic food doesn’t n-need to be physically digested, either.” The human woman felt her eyes widen in surprise. “B-but!” Alphys continued, “It’ll still f-fill you up. It gives you energy, j-just like human food.”</p>
<p>“Wow,” she breathed. “I never knew that. It tastes so good! This is the first time I’ve eaten monster food, to be honest.” She admitted.</p>
<p>“HAVING NEW EXPERIENCES IS ALWAYS GOOD,” Papyrus beamed at Amira, “I CAN MAKE YOU SOME OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI, SOMETIME!” She returned his smile, before responding. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”</p>
<p>She was kind of shocked at the words leaving her mouth. Not because of what she had said, but because she wasn’t telling a white lie, or exaggerating, or just being polite. She really did want to spend more time with these people – get to know them better. She felt that she could finally make some friends here.</p>
<p>“O-oh, before I forget!” Alphys piped up, “Yesterday Amira told me she met s-someone in the Underground, when she went to get samples... W-what was the name again, Amira?” she questioned, looking perturbed that she had already forgotten.</p>
<p>This was perfect! One of them might know who Gaster was. “He said that his name was W.D. Gaster.” Amira told them, scanning everyone’s faces for any sign of recognition. An eerie silence swept over the table. “THAT NAME DOES SOUND FAMILIAR,” Papyrus spoke slowly, “BUT FOR SOME REASON I CAN’T...” he trailed off, an uncharacteristically disturbed expression on his face.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Undyne rasped, supporting her chin in one webbed hand as if in thought. “I think I should know who that is. Or I <em>did</em> know who that was, but... there’s... something in the WAY!” she growled, slamming a fist on the table, clearly frustrated at her inability to articulate the problem.</p>
<p><em>This is odd. Very odd</em>. Amira had thought after Alphys had reacted this way that maybe she was just forgetful or hadn’t known Gaster well. But seeing everyone else at the table reacting the same way... Well – everyone except Sans. Amira turned to look at the shorter skeleton. He was staring straight back at her, wearing an inscrutable expression. The lights in his eye sockets were pinpricks, boring into her. She began to feel very uneasy.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Sans turned from the human woman and addressed everyone else at the table. “don’t think about it too hard.” The spell was instantly broken. It was as if Gaster had never been mentioned. Amira looked to Sans, her expression betraying her awe and confusion. “dr. g tends to slip out of people’s minds.” He spoke lowly so that the others, who were already engrossed in normal conversation again, wouldn’t hear. “he’s a <strong>bone-afide</strong> mystery.” She was silent. Obviously, Sans knew something about Gaster that no one else did. Or that no one else could <em>remember</em>. There was clearly more to the diminutive skeleton monster than crappy puns. <em>I need to speak to him at some point; alone</em>. Amira let that thought rest in the back of her mind, as she re-joined the conversation.</p>
<p>The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful, and Amira was glad for it. When they had all finished their food, everyone split the bill and spilled out of the restaurant, gathering in a small group outside to say their goodbyes. “well paps, we should probably split.” Sans spoke, before his eyes lit up cheekily. “i don’t know about you, but i’m <strong>bone tired</strong>.” Amira and Undyne both groaned, while Alphys let out a little laugh. All of this was drowned out by Papyrus’ shrieking as he dragged his brother away by the arm. “GOODBYE AMIRA! IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU! I APOLOGISE FOR MY BROTHER’S AWFUL PUNS!” he yelled over his shoulder, before shouting a brief goodbye to Alphys and Undyne as well.</p>
<p>Amira turned to the couple and spoke to them. “Thank you guys so much for inviting me to this! To be honest, I was pretty nervous at first, but that was a lot of fun.” she smiled, hoping to convey her honest gratitude. Undyne cackled, wrapping an arm around Alphys’ shoulder. “Don’t mention it, nerd. It’s good to get to know Alphy’s work friends better. You should come again next time!”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah,” Alphys chirped, “Next time we can watch anime at our place! Have you ever seen Mew Mew Kissy Cutie? Ifyouhaven’twecanallwatchittogetherandyou’llloveitit’ssoadorableandfunandthestorylineissocomplexandamazingandtheromanceissogoodand-” She cut off abruptly, blushing at her own incoherent rambling.</p>
<p>Amira didn’t understand half of what the lizard monster had just said, but was totally down to watch some anime with them. “Yeah, that would be awesome! I’ve never seen it before. Just let me know when you guys want to do it!” she grinned.</p>
<p>“Will do!” Undyne said, waving a hand at her. “We’d better see you next time, PUNK!”</p>
<p>Alphys giggled at her girlfriend’s antics, before waving goodbye to Amira herself as they walked off together.</p>
<p>As Amira began her walk home, she couldn’t keep a giddy smile off her face, because she felt like for the first time, she had a shot at making some real friends here.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... what do you think? Amira's making new friends, and is starting to learn just how strange Gaster's situation really is.</p>
<p>Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The River</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone! </p>
<p>I like this chapter a lot. It's got a cute little moment at the end.</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira opened her eyes and rolled over in bed to check the time on her phone’s cracked screen – 8:03. She still had half an hour until she actually had to get up, but she was too eager to get ready and head off for the day. Today was Monday – it had been exactly one week since the biologist’s first visit to the Underground, which meant that it was finally time for her to go back again for more field work. And of course, time for her to see Gaster again.</p>
<p>Yawning, she stretched out her back as she slipped her glasses on, relaxing when she felt the satisfaction of her joints popping. She wouldn’t go into the lab today; she could just head straight to Mt Ebott. Rising from her bed, Amira went about her morning routine as quickly as she could. When she got dressed, she made sure to wear layers this time so she could easily adapt to the harsh, variable temperatures of each area of the Underground.</p>
<p>“Hello and goodbye, love!” Amira dramatically swept past May’s tank, shook some fish flakes into it, grabbed her backpack and bustled out of the front door.</p>
<p>When she climbed into her silver car, Amira breathed in deeply, and started the engine. The knowledge that in about an hour’s time she would be in the Underground again filled her with exhilaration. As she began the drive, she internally went over the basic signs she had learned throughout the week. She didn’t know nearly enough to hold a conversation, but she could recognise a few common words and phrases, including ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘I understand’, ‘I don’t understand’, and ‘you’re signing too fast’. She had also learned how to introduce herself and spell her own name.</p>
<p>Amira was honestly quite excited to show Gaster what she had learned so far. She knew it wasn’t a lot, and that she had a long way to go before she could understand him when he was signing, let alone hold a conversation in sign herself; but it was a start. Her plan for the day was fairly straightforward. She would start by walking to the Echo Flower field, where she would meet Gaster, before heading further into Waterfall to find the source of the nutrient-rich water. That was her mission, which she suspected would take up the whole day.</p>
<p>Amira squinted at the morning sunlight streaming in through the windshield, as she settled in for the long, peaceful drive.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>When Amira had passed the security gate and was pulling up to the entrance to the mountain, she made sure to park in the shade this time. She did <em>not</em> want to get into a burning hot car at the end of the day again. She pushed the door open and stepped down out of the car, slinging her backpack onto her back. Double-checking that she had everything she needed, she swung the door shut and locked her car.</p>
<p>Amira groaned quietly at the thought of having to walk all the way through Hotland to get to Gaster in Waterfall, wilting a little when she realised that she would have to walk through Hotland <em>every </em>time she went Underground. Cursing the linear structure of the Underground, she pulled her hoodie off and tied it around her waist in preparation for the unbearable heat.</p>
<p><em>Might as well get this done quickly</em>, she thought as she began the trek down into the darkness of the cave system.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira scowled at the ‘WELCOME TO HOTLAND SIGN’ as she passed it, wiping sweat from her brow. Hotland was just as unendurable as it had been the last time, which wasn’t helped by the fact that she’d had trouble navigating the complex puzzles and traps that Gaster had helped her through before.</p>
<p>After a familiar walk through the dark, damp Waterfall cave system, Amira found herself just around the corner from the Echo Flower field where she had left Gaster. She felt her heartbeat speed up as she jogged into the room – <em>I really hope he’s still there</em>. Not that he could have moved, but some irrational part of Amira’s mind was afraid that he would just be gone. She made a beeline for the spot she had left him in last time, dark eyes darting around the dreamlike, blue-hued cave. A sinking feeling began to overcome her when she couldn’t see him.</p>
<p>But her fears were quelled almost as soon as they arose. Amira’s eyes landed on a spot on the ground; Gaster was sitting there, reclining against the wall. The grey object was on the ground in front of him, its metallic, grey surface shifting in waves. When he was sitting like this, he was dwarfed by the Echo flowers around him, although Amira remembered that he was substantially taller than them when he was standing. He didn’t seem to have noticed her yet; his eyes – <em>are they even eyes? Eye-sockets? – </em>were turned to the ceiling, entranced by the glimmering crystals that sprouted from it. Amira was reminded of the previous week, when Gaster had been similarly captivated by the Echo Flowers. He seemed to have such a sense of wonder when it came to the world around him; although she supposed it made sense given that he had been stuck seeing only lava and rocks for <em>at least</em> four years.</p>
<p>The biologist walked up to him slowly, the familiar static hum reaching her ears and her vision darkening around the edges. He quickly noticed Amira and stood up, turning to face her. His features lit up at the sight of her, obviously relieved that she hadn’t forgotten about him. Amira mirrored his smile, simultaneously signing and saying “Hello!” to him as she got closer. He looked startled for a second, but then his smile widened as he signed “Hello!” back. She hadn’t really learned enough sign to carry the conversation much further, so she switched to just speech. “I learned a little sign language over the last week. I haven’t learned much yet, but I want to keep going with it and learn more, so you hopefully eventually won’t have to use the notebook.”</p>
<p>He looked touched at her efforts to learn and signed a quick “Thank you.” Obviously realising that Amira’s sign language must be fairly limited, he picked up the notebook which she had left with him the previous week and began to write.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I appreciate that you are making an effort to learn to speak with me properly. If you would like, I could help you to learn more. </strong>
</p>
<p>“That would be great!” she brightened, “It would be way more helpful to have an actual person helping me learn. I’ve just been watching videos and stuff so far.” Amira confessed. He nodded and wrote something else down.</p>
<p>
  <strong>In that case, I would be glad to help. Are you going to be taking more samples today?</strong>
</p>
<p>“No,” Amira told him, “today I thought we’d stay in Waterfall and look for the source of the water in this part of the system. I analysed the samples we took from here last week and as it turns out, the water is abnormally nutrient-rich. I want to find out where it’s all coming from. I think that might be an important aspect of the environmental pressures down here.” Gaster looked quite intrigued by this. He scribbled something down in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>That is interesting – as a physicist, I have never studied the environment in this way. Now that I think of it, I do not know the source of the water myself, nor why it is so nutrient-rich. This should be an interesting day. </strong>
</p>
<p>“It should be.” Amira chirped, “So, I’ll grab the grey thing, and we’ll head off?” Gaster signed “Yes,” in response, so she reached down and gently picked up the grey object, again silently relishing in its strange, cool feel against her palms. She opened her backpack and nestled it safely inside, before beginning the walk west.</p>
<p>Amira’s mind lingered on the grey object, however. She didn’t know much about Gaster at all, but the little bits and pieces she did know were very... odd, to put it mildly. Firstly, he couldn’t be seen unless she was in physical proximity to the grey thing. Secondly, a strange static hum and tunnelling vision seemed to accompany him everywhere. Thirdly, he couldn’t move away from the grey thing, or touch it. And finally, everyone seemed to have some kind of strange mental block that kept them from remembering him. Everyone except Sans, that is.</p>
<p>She decided if she was going to know Gaster more, she would like a few more answers. So, she decided to pluck up her courage and ask. “Feel free to not answer, but I’m genuinely curious...” she hesitated as he looked at her attentively, “What exactly... is the grey thing? Why can’t you move away from it?” His expression dropped a little, and she instantly regretted asking. <em>Shit – what if that was a super offensive thing to ask? </em>Amira was about to apologise, but Gaster turned his attention to the notebook. He looked a little reluctant, and slightly hesitant, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to write, but he eventually showed her his short response.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is my soul. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira tried to play it cool, but her mind was running a mile a minute at this revelation. She had his <em>soul</em> rolling around in her backpack? She supposed it made a little sense – that would explain why he couldn’t move away from it. She also knew that monster souls were all grey, unlike colourful human souls; so that made sense. <em>But monster souls are shaped like upside-down hearts, aren’t they?</em> This thing was definitely not. Its shape constantly shifted and changed, and was really more spherical than anything. It also looked... small. Hurt, almost. Like it wasn’t a proper soul.</p>
<p>Amira decided to articulate her thoughts. “Shouldn’t your soul be... inside you? Not just chilling in my backpack?” she asked slowly. Gaster bowed his head briefly; he looked ashamed. He mulled over his response for a bit, before replying.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Something happened to it, years ago. Something that cannot ever be undone. It was my own fault; my own ambition and hubris have brought me to this point. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>I would prefer not to elaborate on it at the moment. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira signed and spoke a quick “Ok.” in response. Yet again, she felt as if getting an answer to a question about Gaster had only brought up a million more. She felt a little guilty for upsetting him, though, and bringing down the mood. She would respect his wishes and drop the subject, but her mind kept nagging her that she <em>had</em> to learn more. She felt like she might be able to help him; help him get to the surface, or reunite him with people he knew, or even help him fix his soul. But she couldn’t do any of that unless she knew what had happened in the first place. She decided that she would have to organise to speak with Sans as soon as possible. He was clearly her best shot at understanding Gaster, besides the man himself.</p>
<p>Looking around her, Amira realised that she was nearing the area with the pools of bright water. She could already see the faint blue glow of the algae from where she was. The scientist picked up her pace a little, eager to get started with her work for the day. Stopping in the middle of the cavern, she glanced around, puzzled. Gaster seemed to be deep in thought as well. The water in this chamber was confined to pools and puddles and didn’t seem to flow to or from anywhere. <em>So where is it coming from?</em> It clearly wasn’t stagnant – it looked drinkable and clean. Amira realised there must have been an aquifer underneath, supplying these pools with fresh water. It occurred to her then that finding the water source would be a bit more difficult than she initially anticipated.</p>
<p>She decided to tell Gaster her theory and asked for his opinion. He thought for a moment, his strange hollow gaze moving around the room, before responding via the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It seems you are correct. I cannot see any other way for the water to have arrived here, and to still be fresh. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>I may have an idea as to the location of the water source that feeds the aquifer. The large waterfall near the entrance to Snowdin flows into a river below it. It is just west of here. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded, thinking back to when she had walked past the waterfall last time. There had indeed been a river below, flowing in this direction. She remembered that the walk to the path through the waterfall from here was uphill, which meant that the river, while well below the waterfall, could have fed adjacently into an aquifer that supplied water upwards to here. “That would make sense,” the biologist told him contemplatively, “that must be where it comes from. So we should head to the waterfall, and find the primary source from there.” He nodded and signed “Ok”, before they both set off towards the waterfall.</p>
<p>It didn’t take the pair very long to reach the roaring wall of water, but as soon as they did, it became apparent that there was a slight problem. The river that flowed into the waterfall was quite high up – it looked to be at least five metres above where the two were standing. The cliff in front of them definitely didn’t look safe to climb, either. There were no platforms or protruding rocks – it was mostly just a sheer rock face.</p>
<p>Sighing, Amira turned to Gaster. “I don’t think we can get up there without a rope or something. I think I’ll have to go back to the Surface and get some climbing equipment. There’s just no way I can make it up there without anything.” She was frustrated, to say the least. She felt like she had only just gotten down here, and now she was being forced to go straight back up. Gaster stopped her, however, signing “Wait,” before elaborating using the notebook. Amira noticed that while Gaster’s amorphous hands usually had no fingers (they kind of looked like big goopy mittens), when he used signs that required individual fingers, the ‘mittens’ sort of split into separate fingers, before re-integrating again. It was fascinating to watch.</p>
<p>
  <strong>You may not have to return to the Surface for equipment. I can help you to get up there as I did in Hotland last week, if you would like?</strong>
</p>
<p>He looked a little apprehensive as he awaited Amira’s response. “Yeah!” she chirped, “That would be great. It would save so much time, and it would probably honestly be safer than me using a rope.” She was relieved – she knew that this would save hours – and it was so nice of Gaster to offer to help her. Before Amira could continue, Gaster frowned, gauging the height of the cliff the two of them had to scale. <em>Is it too far?</em> She felt her hope start to dwindle. He turned back to the human scientist, writing something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>There is a slight issue. The river is substantially higher than the cliff in Hotland was. I do not think I will be able to stretch my arms down far enough to reach you from the top, as I did last time. </strong>
</p>
<p>He paused in his writing, and Amira decided to interject. “That’s ok – it <em>is</em> a lot further up. I’ll head back up to the Surface and go get some climbing equipment and come back down to meet you here. Hopefully we can still get this finished today.” She smiled at him reassuringly, trying to convey that she wasn’t annoyed. Before she could start walking back the way she had come, Gaster shook his head quickly, signing “Wait,” again before continuing to write.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I could carry you as I climb up. I would not want you to waste your time when I am capable of helping you. Only if you are comfortable with that, however. </strong>
</p>
<p>He looked a little embarrassed, avoiding directly meeting Amira’s gaze. She was a little embarrassed too, but she knew logically that it was the most efficient way to get things done. She rationalised that it would be much safer than making her way up with rope – she had very little experience with that kind of stuff. Amira nodded quickly, replying, “Y-yeah. Actually, that would be really helpful, thanks.” She moved a little closer to him, unsure of exactly how this was going to work. Gaster looked a little lost as well, but he edged towards her, awkwardly outstretching his hands. He picked Amira up, gingerly looping one arm around her jean-clad knees, the other supporting her back. She was hyper-aware of how close to him she was – the cool, fog-like feeling of him against her. Unsure of what to do with her hands, Amira clasped them tightly in front of her chest.</p>
<p>She couldn’t bring herself to look at him properly; not when she was so close to him. So she looked down into the blackness of his form as he reached out to the cliff with his strange little tendrils, hooking on and slowly moving up. Amira turned her head to watch the rock of the cliff move past her face as Gaster climbed, but after a bit she felt her eyes slide up to his face. He was avoiding looking at her as well, and a faint grey colour dusted his cheeks. <em>Is he... blushing? </em>Amira had no idea. She dropped her dark eyes again and forced herself to keep her eyes on the rock until they reached the top.</p>
<p>As soon as Gaster had made it to the top, he carefully lowered Amira to the ground feet-first. He removed his hands from her, and oddly, she found herself missing the strange coolness of his touch. Amira tried to shrug it off – <em>you’re just being weird, Amira</em>. “Thanks for carrying me up here. I really appreciate it.” She told him sincerely, trying to play it cool. She hoped she looked less flustered than she felt. She wasn’t a very touchy-feely person, so she didn’t often find herself so physically close to other people.</p>
<p>The odd grey colour had faded from Gaster’s cheeks, and he signed “You’re welcome,” in response. She turned from Gaster to appreciate the river running by them. The water was extraordinarily clear; clear enough that she could easily see the rocks and crystals embedded on the bottom. It flowed smoothly through the soft riverbed, meandering through the rock and around the corner, where she could no longer see it. “Well,” she told Gaster, “I guess we just follow the river to the source.”</p>
<p>He nodded, and began to follow her as she began the walk down the river.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Gosh, I love how dorky these two are. </p>
<p>The plot is going to start moving a little more next chapter (yes, this story does actually have a plot! Shocking, I know) so hopefully you're looking forward to that too.</p>
<p>Let me know what you thought of this one! Thanks for reading :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. An Agreement</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone! </p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who's been leaving kudos and comments! It really drives my motivation haha</p>
<p>Hope you guys like this chapter! We've got exciting things happening...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A soft yawn escaped Amira’s mouth as she and Gaster trekked through the damp, dimly lit cave system. The river rushed by her, its gentle bubbling and sloshing accompanying the static hum in her ears that came with walking by Gaster. The two of them had been following the river to its source for around twenty minutes. Amira suspected it would have been a fairly boring walk, had it not been for the fact that Gaster had been helping her learn some more signs as they walked together. He had eagerly taught her the signs for some of the things around them – like ‘water’, ‘rocks’, ‘river’ and ‘cave’. He was also beginning to teach her to spell in sign to make both of their lives easier. She would have to practice all of this at home so that she didn’t forget it.</p>
<p><em>Honestly, this is a lot of fun</em>, Amira thought to herself as she laughed at her mangled attempt to spell ‘river’ in sign. The sign itself was pretty easy and self-explanatory, but spelling the word out was proving a little more challenging. Gaster silently laughed along with her and showed her more slowly and emphatically how to spell it properly. “Ohhhh, right.” Amira breathed, trying her hardest to commit the signs to memory before slowly spelling it out, dark eyes looking to him for confirmation. Smiling, he flashed her a thumbs up.</p>
<p>Amira was about to ask him what the sign for ‘dark’ was, when she noticed up ahead that the river ended in a large, cavernous pool of water. She realised that this must have been the primary source of water in Waterfall. But she was a little confused – <em>how did all of this water get here?</em> <em>And how can I explain all the nutrients in it? </em>Her mind finally caught up with her eyes, registering the sunlight streaming down onto the pool, illuminating the clear water with bright, warm light.</p>
<p><em>Wait... sunlight? </em>In a fit of unbridled excitement, Amira ran to the edge of the pool and began to wade in to get a better look. She was vaguely aware that behind her, Gaster was fretting at her impulsive action, following her out to make sure she was safe. The biologist stopped walking out when the water reached the top of her chest, brown eyes cast directly above her. Many metres above her, past the vaulted ceiling in this part of the cave, she could see clear blue skies and glimpses of the vivid green foliage adorning the trees that populated the mountain. Gaster reached her side, his gaze totally focused on the small window to the surface as well. He tapped her gently on the arm, showing her something he’d written in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>This is the first time I have ever seen the sky. It is far more vivid that I ever expected it would be. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was silent, absorbing his words. She felt weighted down with the burden of the knowledge that it wasn’t just Gaster either – thousands of monsters had never seen the sky, never felt the warmth of the sun, never been out in the freedom of the wide, open world until four years ago. She steeled herself, resolving that when she was finished with today, she would try her hardest to convince Gaster to come to the surface with her. She didn’t think she could, with a clear conscience, leave him down here for days on end again. Tucking that decision to the back of her mind, she turned back to the issue at hand.</p>
<p>“The water must get here from the surface,” Amira told Gaster, “I think it’s run-off that’s accumulated nutrients from the mountain. It must all come down here every time it rains out there.” Gaster nodded thoughtfully in response, before tearing his grey gaze from the sky briefly to write something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I think you are correct. That seems to be the most plausible explanation for how nutrient-rich the water here is. </strong>
</p>
<p>The human woman took a few pictures of the area with her phone and used its GPS to mark their location so she could see where exactly on the mountain they were. She would have to climb up the mountain at some point to inspect this area from the outside as well. Looking around, Amira realised that this was all she had to do down here today. Checking the time, she was surprised to see that it was only 11:30. She had only planned on finding the water source, and she had expected that it would take a little longer than it had. She could go back up to the surface now, and maybe get some more of her lab work done – she still had a good half a day left. <em>In that case, now’s the time to convince Gaster to come with me.</em></p>
<p>“I think I’m pretty much done for the day down here,” Amira began, turning towards him. She paused, shivering at the coldness of the water. “Hang on, it’s getting cold in here.” She laughed, as the pair began wading back to shore. When Amira was out, she did her best to wring the water out of her clothes, but she was still soaked. <em>At least my hair’s not wet. Thank god for small mercies. </em>She brushed it off, figuring that the walk back through Hotland would easily dry her off anyway. Curiously, Gaster didn’t seem to be wet at all. The water had just sort of... quickly slid off of him. <em>Like water off a duck’s back,</em> Amira mused. The monster wrote something down in the notebook and showed it to her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Will you be leaving already, then?</strong>
</p>
<p>He looked a little down that she was leaving after such a short time. Amira felt bad, but if she could convince him to come up with her to the surface she would at least feel like she had helped him somehow. “Yeah, I think I’ll head back now.” She considered her next words carefully. “Listen – I have an idea. Just... hear me out, ok?” she implored, adjusting her glasses before ploughing ahead. “I would feel terrible having to leave you down here alone again. And unlike last time, I don’t really have a plan for when I’ll be back next – it could be days, or weeks even.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what happened to you, or your soul, and I won’t ask, but... I do want to help you in any way I can. You seem like a good person, and you don’t deserve to be stuck down here by yourself. You could come with me to the surface! You won’t have to see or talk to anyone you don’t want to – I’ll drive us straight to my home, where it’s just me and my pet fish.” She gathered her thoughts quickly, before continuing. “You can stay with me – that way you won’t be alone, and you’ll be able to move around and see the surface and do what you want to do... And I promise, I’ll bring you straight back down here if you change your mind, or if you decide you’d rather be down here. Besides,” Amira smiled, “it’ll be fun! You can get to know my pet fish, you can eat, you can chill in a place with actual <em>furniture</em>... You can help me learn more sign language!” she paused her lengthy outpouring, suddenly nervous. “So... what do you think?” Amira waited with bated breath for his response.</p>
<p>Gaster was silent for a few moments, mulling over everything the other scientist had just said. Amira tried to speculate at what he was thinking, but his expression was conflicted and indecipherable. After what seemed like an age, his grey gaze met hers for a moment before writing a short response in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I appreciate that you understand that I am not yet ready to talk to any monsters on the surface, especially ones that I knew before. But I would like to try to come to the surface with you, Amira, if you are willing to take me with you. </strong>
</p>
<p>He looked very nervous, as if he was unsure whether he had made the right decision or not. Amira, on the other hand, was absolutely thrilled that he had agreed. She would prove to him that he had made the right choice. “Really? That’s amazing!” she told him, clasping her hands together in excitement before quickly reassuring him, “Don’t worry. This is going to be great. There’s so much you’re going to love on the surface! And you finally won’t have to be alone anymore.” The human smiled at him, hoping to soothe his nerves a little. He still looked unsure and hesitant, but walked beside Amira as she began the journey back to her car.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>As Amira had thought, the walk through Hotland dried her water-logged clothes off completely. Perhaps Hotland wasn’t completely awful, after all. It was still pretty awful – but at least it had been helpful. It definitely had not been pleasant trudging through Waterfall with wet jeans. <em>I really need to work on my impulse control</em>, she thought to herself.</p>
<p>As he had when they walked by the river, Gaster continued to help Amira learn some more signs related to things around them as they made the journey back through Hotland. She had learned the signs for ‘lava’, ‘fire’ and ‘trap’ so far. Having something to concentrate on besides how much she despised the unbearable heat of Hotland definitely helped to make the trip more tolerable. While Amira was having a lot of fun, however, Gaster seemed a little distracted. Not that she could blame him – he was about to go to the surface for the first time, and was probably worried about being confronted with people or things from his past that he wasn’t ready to deal with. She couldn’t even imagine what was going through his mind right now.</p>
<p>The pair had finally made it through Hotland and were traversing the Castle portion of the Underground which opened to the surface. It may have been Amira’s imagination, but Gaster looked oddly nostalgic as they moved through the area, his hollow eyes drifting between the immaculately polished golden walls, the reflective tiled floor and the large faux windows (Amira suspected magic was involved) which stretched from the ground to the towering ceilings far above. It didn’t take the pair much longer to reach the golden door, beyond which Amira knew lay the rocky uphill passage that would take them outside. Gaster seemed to know this as well, eyeing the door with equal parts of suspicion and reluctance.</p>
<p>Amira approached it, hauling it towards her and propping it open with her hip, gesturing for Gaster to walk through. He hesitated for a moment, but seemed to quietly steel himself, straightening his posture and proceeding through the door. The biologist went through after him, letting the door slide shut behind her with a resounding thunk. For a few minutes straight, the two walked side-by-side through the cave. Amira was trying her hardest not to slip on loose rocks, and to not let the fact that she was getting out-of-breath show. Suddenly, Gaster stopped dead beside her. She was confused for a second, stopping as well, but then realised that a pinprick of sunlight had appeared ahead. “Hey,” Amira started gently, “It’s going to be fine. I promise.” Gaster looked towards her, silent for a moment, before signing “Ok”, and walking on towards the light.</p>
<p>He didn’t hesitate again as they both emerged from the cave, slowing only when they were completely outside, bathed in the warm midday sunlight. Gaster looked absolutely overwhelmed at the wide, open space and the view of the town at the base of the mountain far below them – it occurred to Amira that he had probably never seen so much open space in his life; had never seen as far as the horizon before. The thought was almost incomprehensible to her. She had always been around open spaces, having been raised in suburban areas, never really stuck sequestered in a city. She could <em>not </em>imagine having never seen the horizon in her entire life. Again, she tried to imagine how much of an impact this must have had on all the monsters when they came to the surface for the first time. Her own friends – Alphys and Undyne, and even Sans and Papyrus – must have experienced this four years ago.</p>
<p>Amira decided to let Gaster absorb the surroundings for a little bit longer – she didn’t want to disturb him yet. She walked over to her silver behemoth of a car, which was just a couple of metres away (and blissfully parked in the shade), fumbling in her bag for the keys and unlocking it. She turned back to Gaster, who was still looking around him, his hollow eyes fixed on the sky above them. “Be careful you don’t look directly at the sun,” she warned him, “it could hurt your eyes.” He cast his gaze towards her, seemingly shaking himself out of his trance. He wrote something down in the notebook and turned it to show her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is just so difficult for me not to look at the sun. I have never seen anything remotely like it before. It is so bright, and so distant. But you are correct – I would not want to damage my vision. </strong>
</p>
<p>He smiled at the human and approached where she was standing dwarfed by her car. She opened the driver’s door and climbed inside, as Gaster entered through the passenger side. He barely fit inside the car, to Amira’s amusement – his head was touching the roof and he looked a little cramped. But he didn’t seem to mind at all; rather he seemed fascinated by her car. His eyes were darting over the wheel and controls eagerly, as if trying to figure out what they were all for. <em>Did they have cars in the Underground?</em> She honestly wasn’t sure, so she decided to ask him. Gaster signed ‘no’, before elaborating via the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>We had no need for cars in the Underground. As you have seen, it is a relatively small space which can easily be traversed entirely on foot. Although, scrapped car parts from the Surface did fall down occasionally. I have always wondered exactly how they all fit together. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Amira nodded. “I would tell you exactly how cars work, except to be honest, I don’t really know. Although I’m sure the internet will be able to help you on that front.” She realised then that he probably had no idea what the internet was, so she quickly went to explain. “The internet is pretty much a human version of the Undernet. It’s basically an endless void of information.” Gaster looked excited at the prospect of all that knowledge, as Amira started the car and began driving back through the winding path down the mountain.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, Gaster is finally going to the surface! Ahhh, he has so much to learn... I guess he and Amira have a lot to teach each other.</p>
<p>Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Surface</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone! </p>
<p>Hope you all enjoy this chapter - it's a pretty chill one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The drive had been pretty uneventful. The road to and from Mount Ebott was never particularly busy, considering that very few humans were allowed into the Underground, and most monsters had no intention of ever returning to their former prison. So Amira hadn’t really had to worry about anyone seeing or recognising Gaster yet – except when she had to ask him to duck down as they drove through the security gates from the mountain. That had been difficult as Gaster was almost too tall for the car anyway, so when he ducked down, Amira was certain some of him was still visible from outside. Luckily, none of the soldiers really cared about what was coming <em>out </em>of the mountain; their job was to make sure nothing got <em>in</em> that wasn’t meant to.</p>
<p>Amira realised that if Gaster wanted to go back, it would be more a lot more difficult to get him into the Underground than it had been to get him out. She decided that she would cross that bridge if and when they got to it. <em>Hopefully he doesn’t feel the need to go back down there, though.</em> Gaster had been completely quiet throughout the ride; Amira wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t want to disturb her and make her look away from the road while driving, or because he was content looking out of the window as the lush rolling hills and wide-open space shifted to the bare outskirts of the town, and eventually the sprawling, bustling city.</p>
<p>Before long, the pair had reached Amira’s building. The carpark was usually not very busy during the middle of the day when most people were at school or work, so she didn’t think they would have an issue with Gaster potentially seeing someone he didn’t want to see. She pulled into her spot, manoeuvring the large car with practiced ease, before glancing around to make sure no one was around. Satisfied that the two of them were alone, Amira opened her door, speaking to Gaster. “We can get out of the car here. We’ve just got to take the lift up to my floor and get into my apartment. It’s not too much further.” She reassured him despite feeling quite nervous herself. He signed a quick “Ok,” to her, opening his own door and sliding out, glancing around himself carefully. The human woman locked up her car, and quickly led Gaster to the lift, noting that his head nearly brushed its low roof.</p>
<p>The journey up was short, and when the sleek metal doors slid open before the pair, Amira leaned out to check that the hallway was empty, before stepping out and gesturing for Gaster to follow. She hurried to her apartment door, fumbling with her keys before yanking the door open and bustling inside. Gaster rushed inside after her and quickly shut it behind him, letting out a silent sigh of relief that they hadn’t run into anyone on the way up.</p>
<p>Amira gestured to her humble apartment with a theatrical flourish. “Well, here it is.” She announced. “I know it’s not much, but it’s home.” Gaster smiled at her, seemingly having collected himself, and wrote something to her in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Your home is perfectly fine. I have to thank you for bringing me all this way and allowing me to stay here. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Don’t mention it,” she replied, re-adjusting her glasses. “Come on in!” The monster still looked a little unsure and had not moved from his position pressed against the front door. He was glancing around apprehensively, as if not quite sure where he should go or what he should do (or if he had made the right decision). Amira decided to try and make him a bit more comfortable by introducing him to May. The adorable little catfish could win just about anyone over. “Come into the living room, I want to show you something.” She told him gently, leading the way. He followed silently, grey eyes darting around her apartment, drinking in every detail. Amira stopped in front of the fish tank beside her trusty armchair, watching as Gaster noticed May and knelt in front of the tank, hollow eyes avidly following the fish’s movements in fascination.</p>
<p>“Her name’s May.” Amira told him lightly, smiling. “She’s a catfish.” Gaster turned to meet her eyes, visibly confused, and the biologist remembered that monsters tended to be very <em>literal</em> when it came to naming things. “Nothing to do with cats. That’s just what they’re called – don’t ask me why.” She chuckled. He shook his head with amusement, writing something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I will never cease to be amazed at how strange human naming conventions are. You seem to have many unusual names for things which are completely unrelated to what they are. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Yeah, I can’t argue with that,” she mused. “Anyway,” Amira continued, “I’ll leave your soul in here so you can relax for a bit while I get some other things done.” She unzipped her backpack, carefully placing it on the floor. She reached in with both hands to gently grasp the shifting metallic orb of his soul, lifting it out and leaving it safely on the coffee table in the middle of the room.</p>
<p>Picking up her backpack again, Amira walked into the kitchen and dumped it on the counter. She decided she would unpack it later, and instead checked the fridge to start making some lunch. <em>I hope Gaster likes pasta, because that’s all I’ve got at the moment</em>, she thought<em>.</em> It didn’t take her too long to throw together a quick meal, grab some cutlery, and bring it into the living room where she had left her newfound companion.</p>
<p>He was still seated in front of May’s tank, watching her swimming around and, to Amira’s surprise, was signing to the little fish. Amira couldn’t understand a word of it though – he was going far too fast, and the few signs she could make out, she hadn’t learned yet. “... Are you talking to my fish?” she leaned against the door frame, amused. He paused in his signing, looking towards her and nodding sheepishly, signing “Yes”, before rushing to explain.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I know that animals on the surface are not like humans or monsters, despite the fact that some of them appear similar to some monsters, and I know that she is unable to understand me. But I enjoy speaking to her anyway. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira felt a smile unconsciously spread across her face - <em>that is super sweet</em> - then she realised the food was probably getting cold. “Oh, I made lunch!” she piped. “It’s just spaghetti with some veg mince. It was all I really had in the fridge.” She put the plates down on the coffee table and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of one. It occurred to her that she had a proper table in the next-door room that they could eat on, which would be a little more civilised, but Gaster seemed thoroughly fascinated by May and she would feel bad dragging him away. He looked towards her gratefully, signing “Thank you.” before moving to sit on the floor opposite Amira, in front of the plate she had left for him on the table. She brushed her dark hair over her shoulders and started eating – <em>it actually tastes pretty good!</em> – and Gaster followed her lead.</p>
<p>She realised then that she had never actually seen him eat before. <em>What did he eat when he was stuck in Hotland for years?</em> Amira’s thoughts began racing. <em>Did he eat anything at all? Is that possible? </em>She knew that monsters, just like humans, needed energy in the form of food (magical or human) to survive. So how exactly had Gaster managed? Her curiosity got the better of her, as she decided to ask. “How did you eat when you were in Hotland?” He stopped eating for a moment to write his response.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Actually, I did not eat. There was no food. </strong>
</p>
<p>“What?” Amira blurted. “How are you alive? Monsters need to eat to survive, don’t you? Surely you need <em>some</em> kind of energy to stay alive? Or are there some monsters who don’t need that?” She cut off her rambling to give him a chance to respond. Gaster shook his head, signing “No,” before elaborating.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I physically cannot starve because of what happened to my soul. But it feels wonderful to eat again. </strong>
</p>
<p>The human woman nodded slowly but didn’t say anything. Her mind was bursting with questions and theories, but she knew that asking him what happened to his soul would only upset him. <em>I really need to talk to Sans.</em> Amira quickly finished off the last of her pasta, noting that Gaster had finished his already. She took their plates into the kitchen, calling to Gaster over her shoulder “I’ll bring my laptop over so I can set you up with the internet like I promised. You’ll love it – infinite knowledge at your fingertips!” she grabbed her laptop from her bag on the kitchen counter and brought it over to him, placing it in front of him on the coffee table and pulling up Google.</p>
<p>His grey eye-lights seemed to be positively glowing with excitement, as he signed “Thank you!” and began writing something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I cannot tell you how eager I am to learn more about human technology. Much of it has been a mystery to monsters for centuries; we were left with only remnants and scraps that fell into the Underground.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>I am curious as to whether anyone is attempting to build a version of the Core on the surface to assist with the energy problem you mentioned to me last week. I believe that it could certainly be done. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira grinned, glad that he was so eager to learn – his enthusiasm was infectious. “Awesome. Let me know what you find out – I’m going to the lab for the afternoon so I can get a little more work done and start writing up my findings from today’s work. I should be back in a few hours – you’ll be fine here, right?” she asked. Gaster signed “Yes” in response, and the biologist went to grab her bag off the kitchen counter and her lab coat from the hook on the wall. “I’ll see you later!” He signed “Goodbye!” in response, waving to her as she walked through the front door.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira buzzed herself into her lab, putting her things down on the bench. Honestly, she hadn’t really needed to come to the lab today – she had planned on spending the whole day in the Underground, finding the water source – but she wanted to talk to Alphys and figure out a way to speak to Sans. Plus, she figured it really couldn’t hurt to get some more work done. She knew her supervisor would be coming around any day now to check up on her progress.</p>
<p>Pulling her dark curls into a quick ponytail, Amira left her lab briefly to go and talk to her scaly neighbour. She knocked on the door softly, and gently pushed it open upon hearing Alphys’ quiet “C-come in!” Scanning the lab, Amira saw that Alphys was tinkering with some complicated-looking device on her bench. As was their unofficial custom, the biologist looked around to pick out one of Alphys’ inventions to ask her about. Her brown eyes set on a small black box that looked kind of like a speaker. “Hey Alphys, it’s me,” she greeted the lizard monster, who turned around to face her visitor, a smile lighting up her face. “What does this one do?” Amira asked her, gesturing towards the device.</p>
<p>Alphys made her way over to the human woman, navigating the patches of ground that weren’t stacked with papers and inventions. “T-that,” she stuttered, “is a voice modulator. F-for Mettaton, you know? It’s not strictly w-work stuff, I know... But! It helps him adopt different v-voices, like for performances and t-things.” Amira perked up, instantly intrigued. She knew that Alphys had created the robot superstar, which was <em>so</em> cool to her – Mettaton was definitely more popular among monsters than humans, but he was still insanely famous. Apparently he visited Alphys in her lab occasionally, but the biologist had yet to ever see him in person.</p>
<p>“That’s awesome!” she gushed, “Man, Mettaton is so lucky to have you around.” Alphys ducked her head at the compliment, wringing her hands together.</p>
<p>“S-so how’s your work going, Amira? You went back to the Underground today, didn’t you?” she questioned, seemingly wanting to divert the attention from herself.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Amira brightened at the prospect of talking about her research, “I did. I ended up finding the source of the water in Waterfall, so that was great! I’ve got a bit of analysis and some writing to finish off though.” She wasn’t sure how to approach asking Alphys for some way to contact Sans. It was a little weird, she knew, especially since she had decided not to tell Alphys any more about Gaster. But Amira had this unshakable feeling that Sans had all the answers she was looking for.</p>
<p>“Hey, so...” Amira began slowly, smoothing a tan hand over the top of her hair. She was still unsure of how exactly she was going to approach this. “I really enjoyed that dinner last week, and I’ve been thinking... I kind of want to get to know Sans and Papyrus a bit better. They seem cool, and... you know, if I’m going to be hanging out with you guys more often, I...” she trailed off for a bit, before picking back up, “I was wondering if you could give me like, a phone number? Or an email address or something? So I can get in contact with them, you know?” she shut her mouth abruptly, glancing at Alphys to assess whether or not she had weirded her friend out.</p>
<p>On the contrary, the lizard monster beamed at her, and Amira felt the tension melt out of her shoulders. “O-of course!” Alphys turned to grab a notebook from her bench, ripping out a page and writing something down. “Y-you know, Amira, I was a l-little worried that you would feel out of place around all of us. It was a-actually Undyne’s idea to introduce you. B-but! I’m so glad you like Sans and Papyrus!” she stumbled over her words in excitement. She extended a clawed hand to Amira, handing her the paper. The human accepted it gratefully, noting that Alphys had written both of the skeleton monster’s numbers down.</p>
<p>“Thanks so much, Alphys!” Amira told her with genuine gratitude. “I should get back to my work, but I’ll see you around.”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah, see you!” Alphys responded, giving her a quick wave before turning back to her work.</p>
<p>As Amira left the lab to get back to her own one, her thoughts lingered on the conversation. She was sure if it was anyone but Alphys, they would have found her awkward rambling odd and suspicious. But the truth was, even though she <em>had</em> wanted the phone numbers so she could talk to Sans about Gaster, she also really did want to get to know the two skeletons better. But she could worry about that once she had Gaster sorted out. With that thought in mind, Amira figured that there was no better time than the present to contact Sans and arrange to meet up. So she pulled her phone out of her lab coat pocket, saved both numbers as contacts, and typed a quick message to Sans.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hi! This is Amira – Alphys and Undyne’s friend from dinner last week. This might seem a little strange, but I was wondering if we could meet up at some point this week? It’s just that when I mentioned W.D. Gaster at dinner, no one seemed to remember him except you. I have so many questions, and I don’t really know where else to turn.</strong>
</p>
<p>She quickly pressed ‘send’ before she could start second-guessing herself and psyching herself out. <em>There</em>. The deed was done. Reading over her message again, it occurred to Amira that she had never actually asked Gaster what the W.D. stood for. She decided that she really should do that when she got home this afternoon.</p>
<p>The biologist settled down at her lab bench, prepared for the next few hours of work. And after that, maybe she would get some answers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, looks like Amira's going to be meeting up with Sans at some point in the future. <br/>And Gaster likes talking to animals! He's such a sweetheart.</p>
<p>Anyway, let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Home, Sweet Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone - another fast update! </p>
<p>Amira learns a few things about Gaster in this chapter...</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira tapped her boot-clad foot impatiently as she waited for the lift to arrive at her floor. It had been a bit of a slow afternoon at the lab – she had mainly been writing a report of her findings about the water source and doing a bit of analysis on its location on the mountain. She was also looking at the kinds of geographical features might influence the movement and qualities of the water. Honestly, she was just eager to get back home, make sure Gaster was ok, and eat dinner. Speaking of dinner, she had picked up some Thai takeaway on the way back home that smelled <em>delicious</em>. She seriously couldn’t wait to get home and eat it.</p>
<p>When the lift’s doors slid open, Amira slipped out and quickly walked over to her door, unlocking it, and heading straight for the living room where she had left Gaster. To her relief, the now familiar darkened vision and low static hum met her senses just before she turned the corner to the living room. He was still seated on the floor by the coffee table, May’s tank beside him, and the laptop resting on his...  <em>legs</em>? He didn’t really have legs, actually. Just a kind of amorphous black mass of a body. It seemed like he was totally engrossed in whatever he was looking at; because he hadn’t even realised that the human woman was there. His gaze was fixed on the screen, his grey eye-lights darting around; clearly, he was reading something.</p>
<p>“Hi, Gaster!” Amira greeted him cheerfully. Immediately his head whipped up to look at her, startled that he hadn’t noticed her. He mirrored her smile, signing “Hello!”.</p>
<p>“Looks like you managed to find something interesting.” The biologist teased, nodding towards the laptop as she dumped her bag on the floor. He signed “Yes,” in response, carefully placing the laptop on the coffee table before elaborating through the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I have done some investigation into the Core as it could be implemented on the surface. From what I have found, it seems that scientists (both monster and human) have been considering constructing a version of the Core here. However, there is an issue – apparently no monsters can remember precisely how the Core was built. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was confused, to say the least. “How can that be, though?” she questioned, taking a seat on the floor opposite him. “I mean, <em>someone</em> must have made the Core. Someone must have designed it, people must have built it...” Gaster cast his eyes downward, remaining quiet. After a moment of deliberation, he picked up his pen and wrote something into the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I should confess; I was the one who created the Core. I devised the idea, designed it myself, oversaw its construction, and supervised its running. Others were involved, of course, but much of it can be attributed to myself.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira didn’t know what to say – she was shocked. She had figured he was involved in the Core somehow from the way he had spoken about it the previous week with such a sense of pride, but... for him to be the sole mind behind its design? <em>That is crazy</em>. She knew Gaster must have been smart; he was a physicist, and she was pretty sure he had a PhD – she remembered that Sans had called him ‘Dr. G’ – but this was on a whole other level.</p>
<p>“But... there must be blueprints, or documents or <em>something</em> of yours left behind? Something they could use to build the Core again up here?” the biologist questioned, incredulous. Gaster shook his head, before responding.</p>
<p>
  <strong>If anyone recovered the designs and documents when my lab was cleared out, they must have been disposed of or lost. Otherwise they would surely have been used already to begin developing a Core on the surface. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira supposed he must have been right. Which meant, essentially, that he was the only one who could design a version of the Core for the surface. At least, the only one who would be able to do it sometime in the next few years. Except, he didn’t want anyone but her to know that he was alive, and he was evidently too apprehensive to venture out into public where he might be recognised. This posed a problem. Amira decided that she would ask Alphys a bit more about the Core when she went to work next – the lizard monster held the title of the Royal Scientist, so if anyone would know about what had happened to Gaster’s plans for the Core, it would be her.</p>
<p>“That’s really unfortunate,” Amira told him glumly, picking at her chipped nail polish, “all that time and work of yours, just gone.” Gaster nodded slowly in agreement. “But I’ll do some digging at work and try and find out if anyone knows what happened to it. You never know!” He signed a quick “Ok,” in response, but didn’t look hopeful. All of this really made Amira wonder, though. <em>What the hell actually happened to Gaster? He had to have just suddenly... disappeared, or something. How does a person just disappear? And not just physically, but in everyone’s minds as well? </em>It was completely inexplicable to her.</p>
<p>“Anyway,” she began to change the subject to lighten the mood, “what else have you been doing?” Gaster perked up, eager to discuss what he had learned. He began scribbling hastily in the notebook. Amira noticed that the human-sized pen she had lent him was dwarfed by his large hand – but he seemed to be managing to write with it, nevertheless.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I was curious after seeing your car as to how it worked, so that is what I have been researching for the majority of the afternoon. I am fascinated by humans’ use of combustion chambers in engines – the notion of small, controlled explosions being utilised to power a vehicle. I find it very clever, and quite innovative. I still have much to learn about human technology. </strong>
  
</p>
<p>Amira couldn’t help but grin at how enthusiastic he was. “That is pretty interesting, actually. I guess I just take our technology for granted – it’s not really my area of expertise or anything, so I rarely actually look into how mechanical things work.” Suddenly, a thought popped into her head.</p>
<p>“Oh!” she blurted, stretching her legs out in front of her and resting her palms on her thighs, “So I’ve kind of never asked you, but when you introduced yourself to me, you told me your name was W.D. Gaster. I feel like such an idiot for not asking before, but what does the W.D. actually stand for? Like, is it your first name? I’ve just kind of been thinking of you as Gaster this whole time.” He smiled in understanding, before writing his response down.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It stands for Wingdings. It is my first name, but I have always found it to be a little ridiculous. For that reason, I do not usually tell it to people upon first meetings. </strong>
</p>
<p><em>Wingdings? That is <span class="u">adorable</span>.</em> “I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all.” Amira reassured him genuinely, “Honestly, I think it suits you perfectly.” He looked down, seemingly flattered by her words; that strange dark grey colour was dusting his cheeks. Amira was fairly certain by this point that that meant he was blushing. <em>His name does suit him perfectly – it’s sweet.</em> She thought absently. <em>But</em>, her rational mind chimed, <em>if he doesn’t like it, I shouldn’t use it, out of respect. </em></p>
<p>The human woman was startled out of her thoughts by the disconcertingly loud sound of her stomach growling. She quickly crossed her arms over her stomach in embarrassment. Gaster stared at her, concern written on his features. “Don’t worry!” she laughed at his confusion, “It’s a normal human thing. It just means that I’m hungry.” She held up the Thai takeaway that she had put down next to her (and that was probably getting cold). “I bought this on the way home. You ready to eat?” Gaster signed “Yes,”, standing from his position on the ground and writing something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I am eager to try more human food. And considering that you are hungry, we should certainly eat soon. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Ok – let’s head over to the dining table this time.” Amira suggested, waiting for him to sign in assent, before dumping her work bag on the floor and carefully scooping up Gaster’s soul in her now free arm. Holding the shifting metallic orb against her so she didn’t drop it, Amira walked into her kitchen/dining area. Gaster followed, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him sign a quick “Goodbye,” to May as the pair left the living room. The biologist placed the bag of takeaway down in the middle of the table, before gently placing Gaster’s soul on the table beside where he would sit.</p>
<p>Amira bustled into the kitchen to quickly grab some plates and cutlery, and when she returned to the table she noticed Gaster had taken the food out of the bag, opened the containers, and laid them out on the table. They both served some food and began to eat. The food was <em>good</em>, and Amira was so damn hungry. Before she could start a conversation though, her phone suddenly beeped, vibrating against her leg. Her heart seemed to stop for a moment – <em>it must be Sans!</em> – as she wrenched it from her pocket and checked her notifications.</p>
<p>Sure enough, it was from Sans. Amira had to tear her eyes from the screen and force herself not to read it, locking the screen, and placing her phone face-down on the table. She didn’t want to read it there in front of Gaster – it would be rude to stare at her screen, plus she didn’t want to have any suspicious reactions in front of him. She really couldn’t afford to let him find out about her determination to uncover his past; she knew it would hurt him, and that she would lose a lot of his trust in her. <em>Hell, it might even drive him back to the Underground. </em></p>
<p>So she pushed the thought from her mind. “Sorry, just one of my friends. It can wait.” The human woman provided a brief explanation. Gaster nodded in understanding. “I’m curious though,” she began in a light tone, “Have you ever had Thai food before? Because I know you guys had some human food fall down – like, I know Alphys had instant noodles and stuff – but you’ve probably never had proper, cooked human food before, right?” Gaster shook his head no, before placing his fork down to write a reply into the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I have never eaten Thai food before. It tastes quite different from anything I have ever had in the Underground. Human food did fall down occasionally, but as you mentioned it was mainly packaged foods; never ‘proper’ food. I must admit, I am enjoying it quite a lot. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Well, I always say you can’t really go wrong with Thai food.” Amira shrugged, flashing a smile. Thai was always her go-to takeaway food. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. “There’s a whole world of different human foods out there, and you haven’t had any of them.  So why don’t I try and make a different cuisine for dinner each night so you can see what you’ve been missing out on?” she proposed, excited at the prospect of slowly introducing Gaster to the surface world. Gaster looked just as intrigued, responding via the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>That is a wonderful idea. But I do not want to impose too far on your hospitality; so perhaps I could make dinner every second evening. I could introduce you to a variety of monster dishes as well. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was practically bouncing in her seat with enthusiasm<em>. This is going to be so much fun! </em>As ashamed as she was to admit it to herself, the only monster food she had ever tried was that burger at Grillby’s. There must have been a whole world of monster cuisine she had been missing out on as well. “That’s a great idea!” she chirped. “Just write down a list of ingredients for me, and I’ll buy them tomorrow so you can make dinner.” They had both finished their food by that point, so Gaster signed “Ok,” before gently tearing out a page from the notebook and beginning to scribble down a list. Meanwhile, Amira took the plates into the kitchen to dump in the sink.</p>
<p>While she was in the relative privacy of the kitchen, and Gaster was occupied with writing the shopping list, Amira decided to check Sans’ message. She took a deep breath, before unlocking her phone and opening the text.</p>
<p>
  <strong>hey kid. i’ve been wanting to talk to you about dr g too. i have a <span class="u">skele-to</span>n of questions to ask. i’m free saturday – if you’re free we should get lunch. </strong>
</p>
<p>The biologist did a small silent victory dance – <em>finally</em> she could start making some sense of this whole thing. She had Saturdays off, so she typed out a quick response telling him she was free. She wished she could speak to him sooner – Saturday was five whole days away – but she would just have to play the waiting game. She could live with that, as long as she could rest assured that answers were on the horizon.  </p>
<p>As Amira started washing the plates in the sink, it occurred to her that she should probably think about sleeping arrangements at some point. She didn’t have a spare room or an air mattress or anything – just the living room couch. It would be a tight fit for Gaster though, considering how tall he was. Hopefully it would be bearable for him, though, until she was able to find a better solution. When she had dried the plates and put them away, Amira returned to the dining table. Gaster stood when she arrived, handing her the now completed list of ingredients he had written. “Ah, thanks” she murmured, re-adjusting her glasses as she scanned over the list. There were a lot of unfamiliar ingredients; she would probably have to ask Alphys for help in terms of where to buy them. “I’ll pick them up tomorrow.” She told him.</p>
<p>“Oh, also,” she began, “in terms of sleeping arrangements... the only thing I’ve got is the living room couch. I’m sorry – it’s probably kind of small for you, but it’s all I have at the moment.” The biologist wrung her hands together, feeling a little stupid that she hadn’t thought of this before. <em>I could have bought him an air mattress or something.</em> But Gaster just waved off her apology, writing a response in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Do not be sorry. You are very kind to allow me to stay here. The couch will be fine.</strong>
</p>
<p>He paused for a moment, thinking, before writing something else.</p>
<p>
  <strong>In fact, I feel as if I am imposing on you. Perhaps, as the least I could do, I could help you to learn some more sign language while I am here?</strong>
</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah! I’d love that.” Amira agreed, excited to learn more. “Do you want to start now? I mean I don’t really have anything I need to do this evening, so...” she trailed off hopefully. Gaster signed “Yes!” and gestured towards the living room. The human woman carefully picked up his soul from where it rested on the table and carried it with her back to the living room as Gaster followed. As Amira sat down cross-legged next to the coffee table, placing the monster’s soul on top of said table, Gaster waved a quick “Hello” to May before sitting opposite her.</p>
<p>Amira settled back against the couch, ready to learn. This was going to be a long (but educational) night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright! Next chapter will be an important one. There's probably about 4 or 5 chapters left of this arc of the story - then we'll really get into the plot stuff! </p>
<p>I'm really excited to get started with the second arc, because that's where I stopped writing the original version. We'll be in uncharted territory pretty soon!</p>
<p>Anyway, let me know what you thought of this one!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. A Conversation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright! This chapter should be an interesting one. </p>
<p>Amira finally gets to have her conversation with Sans. I had to kind of chop the conversation in half because this chapter was getting way too long, but I think it'll make more sense this way anyway. </p>
<p>Hope you enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira felt like the past few day had gone by in a blur, even though so much had happened. For one, she had gotten to know Gaster a bit better; living with someone for six days tended to do that. They had fallen into an easy sort of pattern, especially when it came to meals. Gaster had made dinner twice so far – on Tuesday it was a monster quiche, and on Thursday it had been some sort of noodle dish. He seemed to enjoy cooking, finding a kind of solace in the act. And he was good at it too! Amira had loved both meals, finding monster food so completely unique and different from anything she had ever eaten before. Honestly, she was kind of surprised that cooking was something Gaster enjoyed and was so skilled at.</p>
<p>But then again, she was quickly learning that despite his rather intimidating appearance, Gaster’s personality was quite the opposite. Amira had discovered him to be a shy, gentle, and overall sweet person. He was quiet and introspective, with a genuine thirst for knowledge and a razor-sharp mind.</p>
<p>Amira had made dinner twice as well – on Wednesday and Friday. She had settled for making wonton soup the first night, and some vegetarian biriyani on the second (from a family recipe, in fact). That had taught her that Gaster could <em>not</em> handle spice. At all. One bite and his whole face had rapidly turned a dark grey colour. <em>The poor guy</em>. Apparently monsters didn’t really <em>do</em> spicy food, so they were all totally unaccustomed to it. Amira had stored that bit of information in the back of her mind so she knew to lay off on the chilli in the future. Thankfully, Gaster had been completely understanding, and had been able to laugh at his own expense after the fact.</p>
<p>Amira had also learned some more sign language over the past few days with Gaster’s help. It was mostly short phrases like ‘how are you?’, ‘I don’t know’, and ‘is it time for dinner?’. Just little things that would make day-to-day communication with Gaster a little easier without him having to constantly turn to the notebook. Speaking of the notebook, it was starting to run out of empty pages despite Gaster’s best efforts to be as space-efficient as he could. So Amira had dug out another one from the stash of empty notebooks she had accumulated through various birthday presents and impulse buys, and given it to him.</p>
<p>She had also bought him a cheap air mattress after his first night staying with her; it was still far from a proper bed, but it was much better than her living room couch that barely fit him. Gaster had also taken it upon himself to feed May each day and, because he still felt like he was being a bit of a burden on Amira (even though she had assured him countless times that he wasn’t), he had volunteered to help her out around the house with cleaning and such. Overall, Amira was having a great time living with Gaster. She hadn’t realised just how alone she had been since she moved to Ebott, until she wasn’t alone anymore.</p>
<p>In terms of work, Amira had asked Alphys a couple of days ago about the blueprints for the Core, hoping that the other scientist would have some idea about what happened to them. But it was to no avail. Alphys had told Amira that no one could remember who created the Core, and that any plans they may have left behind were lost. She also told her that the idea of deconstructing the Core and reverse-engineering it had been considered, but it was ultimately deemed to be too risky. The Core was incredibly complex, and no one wanted to risk destroying it. <em>Of course</em> <em>no one remembers that Gaster created the Core, </em>Amira thought sardonically, <em>Of course they don’t.</em></p>
<p>And that was what brought her to today – Saturday. The day Amira was finally meeting Sans for lunch; the day she would <em>finally</em> get some answers. The human woman had told Gaster that morning that she was going to meet an old high school friend for lunch; and he had bought the excuse without question. Since she had the whole day off, that morning Amira had decided to introduce Gaster to the wonders of Star Wars. The pair had both just finished watching ‘A New Hope’, and Amira turned to face him on the couch as the end credits rolled, keen to hear his reaction. He turned towards her in turn, scribbling something down in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I can see why this series is so popular, and why you are so fond of it. I enjoyed it a great deal – the concepts and technology devised are fascinating to me. Especially the idea of lightsabers: a discontinuous beam of light strong enough to melt metal! And interstellar travel! While we were trapped Underground, monsters could only dream of even <em>seeing</em> the stars. But the notion of actually visiting them... </strong>
</p>
<p>He was beaming at the thought. “I’m so glad you liked it!” Amira clapped her hands together excitedly. “There are eight more movies in the main series! And some spin-offs too. We should try and watch them all.” She suggested.</p>
<p>Gaster looked shocked at the mention of <em>eight</em> more movies, but eagerly signed “Yes, we should!”</p>
<p>Amira checked the time on her phone quickly; it was time for her to go. Suddenly, the relaxed happiness brought about by watching one of her favourite movies with a friend was replaced with jittery anxiousness. Gaster seemed to notice this, because a concerned look washed over him. “It’s time for me to go,” Amira explained, avoiding meeting his eyes. “I’m just nervous because I haven’t seen this friend in a while. I just hope everything goes well.” Guilt welled up in her for lying to him, but she knew she had to. Gaster reassured her.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I am sure everything will go well; you are a good conversationalist. I hope you have a nice lunch. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Amira gave him a half-smile. “See you later, Gaster. Bye May!” she called out as she walked to the door.</p>
<p>“Goodbye, Amira.” The monster signed to her as she left the apartment with a wave.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The walk to Grillby’s was pretty uneventful. But then again, that may have just been because Amira was too caught up in her own head to notice anything around her. Her mind was whirring, and her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest. Not just because she was eager to hopefully learn about what happened to Gaster, but also because she was scared. She was scared that Sans might not have any answers. Or worse – she was scared that he did have the answers, but they might be things she didn’t want to hear.</p>
<p>Gaster had mentioned, several times, that he had done something terrible. As much as Amira wanted to believe that he was just exaggerating and was holding himself to absurd standards... <em>what if he isn’t? </em>What if she was forced to completely re-evaluate the way she had come to see him? Just when she was really starting to like him, and genuinely consider him a friend?</p>
<p>Before Amira could start spiralling into more hypotheticals, she realised she had reached Grillby’s. She stopped outside, leaning against the facade of the building – it didn’t look like Sans had arrived yet. Looking to her left, the human woman scanned the street for any sign of Sans, but didn’t see any. She turned her head to the right to do the same, when suddenly she heard a voice back to her left.</p>
<p>“hey kid.”</p>
<p>Amira jumped with a gasp, whirling around to face the grinning skeleton monster. <em>How did he get there so quickly? I just looked over there.</em> “Hi, Sans.” She breathed through her shock. “Let’s go inside?” She pointed towards the restaurant. He nodded in response, following her inside. They both moved over to a booth in silence, sitting down. A monster with orange, glowing flames for a head came over immediately to pour them both some water and take their orders. Amira couldn’t help but wonder how his glasses stayed put on his face, and how his clothes weren’t burning up. <em>Magic, I suppose. </em>Her mind supplied. “hey grillbz. i’ll get my usual.” Sans greeted him<em>. So this is Grillby – he must own the place</em>, Amira reasoned. “Can I get a classic burger, please?” she spoke, sticking to Sans’ advice from the previous week. Grillby nodded in response, before walking back to the bar.</p>
<p>“so,” Sans began, “i’ve got a feelin’ you’ve got a <strong>skeleton</strong> in your closet. somethin’ you’re hidin’. tell me – where’d you find dr. g?”</p>
<p>Amira swallowed, resting her hands on the table. “Well, I was doing some fieldwork down in the Underground – it was my first day down there. I was in Hotland, sitting on a ledge of rock above the lava and... I saw this small grey thing on a rock platform far down below me. It was moving a little, so I thought I could sample it and I went down there to take a look. When I got closer to it, I could see Gaster.” She shrugged, before continuing. “I was terrified at first, but then I realised he wasn’t a threat, so...” she trailed off, not really sure what more to add.</p>
<p>“hotland... on a damn rock platform...” Sans chuckled humourlessly, then was silent for a moment. “just to be sure we’re talkin’ about the same dr. g – describe him real quick.”</p>
<p>“Ok,” Amira nodded, “he’s pretty tall, he has kind of an amorphous shape... mostly pitch black, but with a white face. He’s got white hands too, with holes in his palms. He also has like, cracks in his face... here” she drew a line with her finger from the top of her right eye to her forehead, “and here.” She drew another line from the bottom of her left eye to her mouth. “...He’s also a huge dork.” She added with a half-smile.</p>
<p>Sans nodded. “sounds a little different, but that’s him alright. though of course he would look a little different, after what happened.” Amira decided then that she couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore. It was her turn to ask some questions. “I need to know,” the human woman stated with determination, leaning forward, “what happened to Gaster? What happened to his soul?” She waited with bated breath, as Sans remained quiet for a moment, staring at his clasped hands.</p>
<p>When he met Amira’s dark gaze again, his mood had sobered completely. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be making any puns anytime soon. When he started speaking, it was in a serious, low tone as if he didn’t want anyone to overhear. “back in the day – must’ve been nine years ago, now – when dr. g was royal scientist, i was his lab assistant. i helped him with a lotta his work, but when it came to the core... that thing was like his baby, y’know? he was real protective and proud of it. not that he didn’t have a right to be – it’s a damn impressive system.” Sans paused for a moment, sighing deeply. “but he wanted it to be <em>his</em> creation, and his alone. so he wouldn’t let me or anyone else have anythin’ to do with it. sure enough, dr. g got totally sucked into his own work. became a total recluse... allowed the core to consume his whole life.” Sans paused again, to take a sip of his water.</p>
<p>Amira stayed silent, absorbing the skeleton monster’s words. “but he finished the damn thing, and it worked. and he was so proud of it too, at first. but if there’s anythin’ i know about dr. g, it’s that he’s too ambitious for his own good. pretty soon, the core wasn’t good enough for him. he wanted to make it better and better; faster, more efficient, more powerful.” Sans sounded frustrated, resting his skull in his hand for a moment before continuing. “he started messin’ with shit he shouldn’t’ve. quantum stuff that none of us understood.” He stopped speaking when Grillby approached with their food. The fire monster placed the plates down in front of them, giving Amira a brief nod at her murmured “Thanks.” Sans doused his food with ketchup but made no move to eat anything. Amira wasn’t very hungry anymore either, but she forced herself to slowly munch on some of the crispy golden fries as Sans continued speaking when Grillby was out of earshot.</p>
<p>“i should mention – dr. g never told me any of this himself.” She detected a hint of bitterness in his voice, “i only found a lot of this out after the fact. after he was gone. i read his journal entries and scoured his lab – just so i could know what the hell happened, y’know? we were barely workin’ together at all anymore by the end of it. but anyway, i’m gettin’ ahead of myself." Sans paused as if to reorder his thoughts. “i was worried about dr. g and how far he was spirallin’ into his work. hell, so was everyone else. asgore was gonna intervene. alphys saw dr. g as a kind of mentor before she became royal scientist – she was damn worried too. but none of us acted quick enough.” Amira heard true regret in his voice – it was clear he felt like he had failed Gaster.</p>
<p>“in messin’ with things he didn’t understand, somethin’ went wrong, and... dr. g’s soul was shattered into pieces.” Sans stopped speaking, allowing Amira to process that. Suddenly, so much more made sense to her. <em>That has to be why his soul doesn’t look right</em> <em>– it’s small and misshapen because it’s just one piece of the whole thing.</em> <em>Maybe that’s why I can only see him when I’m near the soul piece, and why he feels not-quite solid; because he isn’t really all there. Not physically, nor in terms of his soul. He’s only one part of a fractured whole. </em></p>
<p>Sans took another sip of water, food still untouched, before continuing. “i only saw the aftermath. the lab was all fucked up. there’d been some kinda explosion. stuff was burnin’, papers and equipment everywhere... and no sign of dr. g. i tried to find him, but he was just... gone. i can’t explain it, but... somehow i just <em>knew</em> that a soul was shattered that day.”</p>
<p>He paused, piercing blue gaze boring into Amira’s. Somehow she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was looking <em>into</em> her – judging her in some way. He must have been satisfied with whatever he saw, because he kept speaking. “suddenly, no one remembered that dr. g had ever even existed. not the king ‘n queen, who made him royal scientist, not alphys, who he worked with for years, not paps, who he was always so nice to, not <em>anyone</em>. except me. don’t ask me why; i don’t know either. so i tried to figure out what happened. finally, i managed to put the pieces together – when his soul was split like that... it shifted the fabric of the whole damn multiverse. everything in <em>our</em> universe was warped – sure, dr. g’s lab was still there, his work was there, his damn core was still there... but otherwise it was like he never existed. and my hypothesis is that it wasn’t just <em>our </em>universe – the fracture would’ve erased his presence from <em>all</em> universes.”</p>
<p>Amira stopped breathing for a second; this was so much more serious than she could ever have expected. She felt entirely out of her depth – like a child trying to get involved in grown-up talk. <em>Multiverses? The fabric of the universe? What am I getting myself into?</em> But apparently Sans wasn’t finished. “i looked for the pieces for <em>years</em>, but i never found even one. and as ashamed as i am to admit it, one day i just... stopped lookin’. and that was that.” He met Amira’s gaze. “but then you showed up last week. and now... everything’s changed.” The human woman took her glasses off and tried to rub the tension out of the bridge of her nose as she processed everything. It took her a few minutes to collect her thoughts – thankfully Sans seemed to understand this, slowly munching on his ketchup-drowned fries as he waited for her to respond. Amira slid her glasses back on, running a hand through her dark hair and taking a deep breath before looking straight at Sans.</p>
<p>“Now that I’ve found a piece of his soul... is there anything we can do? Is there any way we can find the others?” Sans was contemplative for a bit, considering the human’s words. “the other pieces are probably completely scattered geographically, from the force of the shattering. they won’t be near the one you found. not all of ‘em, anyway. but i don’t <em>think</em> they’re scattered across timelines or universes. the way i understand it, the pieces should exist simultaneously in all universes and timelines – like i said, every version of dr. g would have been split at once. so technically it should be possible to find all the pieces and put ‘em back together.” Amira felt hope bubbling up within her, but it was quickly crushed with Sans’ next words. “but remember, kid – i searched for <em>years</em> and never found anythin’. it was damn lucky that you found the one piece you did.”</p>
<p>Amira nodded – he was right. But then something occurred to her. “Wait, you said this happened nine years ago, right?” Amira had to pause briefly, because <em>holy shit, nine years is a long time</em>. “When you stopped looking, were monsters still trapped Underground? Did you ever look on the surface?” she questioned. Sans shook his head. “no. i stopped lookin’ long before we got here. but still, amira, it’d be like lookin’ for a needle in a haystack. actually, more like a needle in a<em> thousand</em> haystacks.” The human looked down at her hands, realising that he was right. <em>But still</em>, she thought, <em>I feel like we should at least <span class="u">try</span>.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, there it is. I mean I'm sure many of you already guessed that Gaster's soul was shattered, as that tends to be a popular fan canon.</p>
<p>Anyway, please let me know what you think! Anyone have any ideas on how they might go about finding the other pieces?</p>
<p>I'm keen to hear what people think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Consequences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone!<br/>Thank you to everyone who's been reading, commenting, leaving kudos etc. - it really makes me happy to see what you're all thinking about this story. </p>
<p>Anyway, this chapter... Amira realises she made a mistake. We've got a bit of angst here, but it ends on a nice fluffy note. </p>
<p>Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>I feel like we should at least <span class="u">try</span>.</em>
</p>
<p>Amira and Sans sat in silence for a few minutes as they both slowly finished their burgers – although neither seemed able to enjoy the food in light of the conversation they had just had. Amira was a little out of it, mentally. She felt like her mind was clouded in a thick mist, like she just couldn’t quite <em>think</em> properly.</p>
<p>So, she was startled when Sans’ deep voice broke the silence, slicing through the fog in her brain. “i have to ask – is he still down there? have you talked to him since?”</p>
<p>“No,” she replied immediately with a shake of her head, “he isn’t down there anymore. And I’ve spoken to him plenty since then.” Amira paused for a moment, wondering exactly how much she should reveal to Sans. Ultimately, she felt that he was trustworthy. “Actually, he’s on the surface now. He’s been staying with me the last few days.” Sans looked thoroughly confused, but perked up with interest, his eye lights brightening. Amira realised she had just given him false hope that he would be able to reunite with his old friend, and rushed to explain. “Gaster doesn’t actually know I’m here with you right now.” She divulged. Sans seemed to dim a little. “He was so reluctant to leave the Underground... I really had to work hard to convince him to come up here. He told me that he isn’t ready to face anyone he used to know down there, and I promised him he wouldn’t have to.” She explained, feeling terrible as she saw the hope fade from Sans’ eyes completely. “I just had to know what happened to him. I knew <em>something</em> terrible happened, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something I could help with. I don’t know, it’s stupid...” she trailed off briefly, before finishing her explanation. “I came to speak to you in secret. You’re the only other person who seems to know anything about him. So, I lied and told him I was meeting an old high school friend for lunch.”</p>
<p>The human woman watched Sans’ features for a reaction. He just nodded, and then asked her bluntly: “why do you care so much? dr. g isn’t your responsibility. you could just go on with your life without havin’ to deal with the problems he created for himself, and no one would be any the wiser. hell, I wouldn’t blame you.” Amira felt a wave of red anger surge within her. <em>How can he have so little compassion for his friend? </em>But the anger receded as she realised that Sans was looking <em>into</em> her again with that odd intensity – he was testing her.</p>
<p>Amira straightened her spine and just told the truth. “I care because he’s my friend. And I want to help him. He’s mentioned to me several times that he’s done something terrible that he regrets, and it’s clear to me that it’s really tearing him up inside and has <em>been</em> tearing him up for years.” She cringed at her wording.<em> Tearing him up; really?</em> “Sorry – no pun intended.” Sans cracked a small grin. “I just... I can’t pretend that everything’s fine, and that there’s nothing I can do when I haven’t even tried.” She stopped, watching the skeleton monster a little apprehensively. The intensity of his bright blue gaze dropped off; he didn’t say anything, but Amira hoped that he was satisfied with her answer.</p>
<p>Sans leaned back in his seat with a sigh. “i’ll think about all this. if i get any ideas on how we can help dr. g, i’ll let you know.” Amira nodded, “Thanks. I’ll do the same.” She saw Sans hesitate for a moment, uncertain of his next words, before asking, “if dr. g ever tells you he’s cool with seein’ anyone he used to know... let me know?” he stopped, before elaborating. “it’s been a while, and we didn’t end up on the best terms with all the shit about the core, but... i’d like to see him again, y’know? so would everyone else – i mean, if people saw him again, maybe they’d remember...”</p>
<p>Amira spoke quietly. “Of course, I’ll let you know.” Sans gave her a nod of appreciation, before getting Grillby’s attention to get the bill.</p>
<p>When the fiery bartender brought it over, the pair split the cost between them before walking out of the restaurant together. “y’know,” Sans turned to Amira, “it feels good to finally be able to talk to someone about this. thanks, kid.” She shook her head. “No, thank <em>you</em>. I seriously needed to talk to someone about this as well.” He was quiet, before turning back away from the human woman. “see ya, kid.” he spoke with a wave. “Bye!” she responded in kind, as she walked off to the left, and he to the right. <em>Wait a minute</em> <em>– Sans came from the same direction as me, didn’t he? Why would he walk away in the other direction? </em>She brushed off the train of thought, figuring he must just be going somewhere different from wherever he’d come.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira felt like she was on autopilot the entire way home, drowning out her surroundings and just walking blindly. It was difficult for her to reconcile the Gaster she had come to know over the past few weeks with the obsessive, ambitious recluse that Sans had spoken about, who was destroyed by his own creation. <em>Or is it?</em> She snapped herself out of her inner musings when she found herself standing outside her apartment door. It was then that she realised that she had no idea what her plan was.</p>
<p><em>Do I tell Gaster that I just met Sans? Do I tell him that I at least know what happened to him? But how can I explain that without mentioning that I met Sans? Or, do I just keep up the charade that I went to lunch with a high school friend? </em>Amira ran through various hypothetical scenarios in her head. She realised she had made a mistake, making an impulsive decision without properly thinking through the consequences. Eventually, she realised that there was no way to avoid hurting Gaster in some way. If she kept lying to him, the truth would eventually come clean (because webs of lies <em>always</em> came tumbling down), and she would lose the trust she had earned from him and hurt his feelings badly. If she was totally straight with him and told him the truth now, he would definitely be upset with her, but Amira figured it would be better than drawing out the lies. <em>Besides</em>, she reasoned, <em>that way we can at least get to figuring out his situation faster. </em></p>
<p>With that thought, Amira unlocked the front door and opened it, approaching the living room slowly. The static hum and dark tunnel around her vision met her senses before the sight of Gaster did. He was sitting in her armchair beside May’s tank, reading something on her laptop. “Hey,” she said softly, getting his attention. He turned his head to face her, placing the laptop on the coffee table. “Hello!” he signed cheerfully. “How was your lunch?”</p>
<p>Amira sighed deeply, before biting the bullet. “I have to tell you something.” Gaster sobered immediately, looking a little puzzled at her sombre mood. He was quiet, waiting for her to elaborate – he could clearly sense that this was something important. “I lied to you when I told you that I was meeting an old high school friend for lunch. I actually went to speak to one of your old friends; Sans.” The biologist stopped speaking to let that sink in. Sure enough, a myriad of emotions rapidly crossed Gaster’s features. First came confusion, then shock, hope, and finally, crushing sadness.</p>
<p>His hollow eyes looked into hers with a broken expression. “How?” he signed simply, before grasping the notebook to elaborate.</p>
<p>
  <strong>How do you know Sans? How did you know that Sans was my friend?</strong>
</p>
<p>Before Amira could answer he met her gaze again, signing “Why?” Amira was seriously regretting her decision. He looked absolutely crushed, giving her a searching look. Amira knew the only thing she could do now was explain herself truthfully. “I was curious about your soul, and what happened to you... what the ‘terrible thing’ you said you did was.” She cursed her inability to express herself properly under pressure, and rushed to explain further. “Not out of morbid curiosity or anything – I mean, curious because I wanted to help you. I <em>want</em> to help you.” She corrected, gesturing frantically. “I met Sans totally by accident – like a complete coincidence – at a group dinner with a mutual friend. And the fact that I met you in the Underground came up in conversation... but this was before you told me you didn’t want to see anyone you used to know yet! But I didn’t understand why no one could remember you except Sans – not Alphys, Papyrus, not anyone at that table, apparently-”</p>
<p>Gaster signed “Please,” gesturing for Amira to stop. He looked utterly despaired when he wrote in the notebook:</p>
<p>
  <strong>No one remembers me?                                            </strong>
</p>
<p><em>Shit</em>. Amira cursed herself silently – <em>now I’ve really fucked up</em>. <em>Running my stupid mouth again without thinking about what I’m saying. </em>“No.” she told him softly, before rushing to reassure him. “But Sans thinks that if people see you again, they’ll be forced to remember you!” Gaster didn’t look hopeful; in fact, he still looked absolutely devastated. “Why?” he signed again, before writing something down.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I asked you not to make me see anyone. I am not ready.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira felt like a piece of shit. “You don’t have to.” She told him, “That was never my intention. I even told Sans that. And no one else knows, I swear!” she was starting to panic, so she inhaled deeply before continuing. “I just want to help you. And from what Sans told me today, I think there might be something we can do.” He wouldn’t meet her imploring eyes, but she kept talking. “Your soul is shattered, right? Sans told me that if we can find the other pieces, we should be able to put them together and restore you to... yourself.” Still, he didn’t look hopeful. He was silent, grey eye-lights dim and downcast as he wrote something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is impossible. I have resigned myself to this existence, and I must face the consequences of my actions. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira felt absolutely awful. She stopped talking and decided she had to stop pushing this until she or Sans came up with an actual idea to help find the other pieces of Gaster’s soul. He caught the woman’s attention, showing her something else he had written down.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I would like to be alone for a moment. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira looked down, forcing herself not to start tearing up. Obliging to his wishes, she turned and left the living room, heading straight for her bedroom, wrenching her glasses off and collapsing face-down on the bed. She didn’t cry, but she felt a crushing sense of despair pervading her bones. <em>I have royally fucked this up.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira cracked her bleary eyes open, disoriented for a moment. <em>I must have fallen asleep. Great.</em> Checking the time on her phone, she saw that it was almost time for dinner. She realised that that morning, Gaster had offered to make dinner; but she had left him in the living room after their... discussion. Plucking up her courage, she pushed herself up from the bed, sliding on her glasses, and left her room, slowly making her way back to the living room. <em>I can’t hide from him forever. </em></p>
<p>Gaster was sitting on the floor beside May’s tank, watching her with his head resting on one hand. He was facing the doorway, so when he saw Amira approaching, he immediately stood. “Look, I’m-” Amira started, as Gaster signed “I-” at the same time. They both stopped, and Gaster gestured for her to go ahead with what she was going to say. “Look, I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot. I put my own selfish curiosity above your needs and wishes, and I shouldn’t have done that. I should have brought it up with you first and waited until you were ready before I spoke to anyone about you.” She spoke bluntly, “But I didn’t do that. So, I understand if you don’t want to be around me anymore. If you want, I’ll take you back to the Underground, or wherever else you want to go.” She stopped her little speech as Gaster waved frantically for her to pause.</p>
<p>“May I speak?” he signed sincerely, grey eyes meeting her gaze. Amira decided to keep her mouth shut, simply nodding in affirmation. He switched to the notebook, and the human woman held her breath as she waited to read what he was writing.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I will not deny that I am disappointed and upset that you spoke to Sans about me without my prior knowledge. </strong>
</p>
<p>She felt her heart sink, but kept reading.</p>
<p>
  <strong>However, I understand why you did it. And I certainly do not want to lose your company; if you are still willing to accommodate me here, I would love to stay. I do not doubt that you had the purest of intentions, and that you did this with my wellbeing in mind. And while I greatly appreciate that you are trying to help me, it is not possible to restore my soul. I do not know how many pieces there are, and in a world this vast... they could be anywhere. </strong>
</p>
<p>When she had finished reading, Amira glanced up to gauge Gaster’s expression. She was distressed to see that he had begun to tear up a little at his perceived hopelessness at the idea of ever having a whole soul again. She resolved then and there that she would do everything she could to find a way to help him.</p>
<p>Amira hesitated for a moment, not sure if her next action would be welcomed. But she ploughed ahead anyway lest she lose her courage. She slowly took a step closer to Gaster, giving him time to move away if he wanted to. He didn’t. She flicked her dark gaze up to his face for a second, before gently wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He immediately froze up. For a heart-stopping second Amira thought she had made yet another stupid move. But the moment passed, and Gaster gently wrapped his arms around her as well. Despite the coolness of his... skin? – Amira wasn’t sure if he <em>had</em> skin – and the fog-like feeling of his arms and body, the hug felt warm and solid. Despite the fact that her field of vision was currently all-consuming darkness (<em>he’s was way too tall</em> – Amira was only eye level with the top of his ‘chest’), she felt light and airy as the tension melted from her completely. Despite everything she had just done, she couldn’t help but feel like everything was going to be okay.</p>
<p>The pair remained in that position for what felt like an eternity – neither really willing to let go and return to the real world just yet. That was fine by Amira, though. She would stay there for as long as he needed her to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well... Amira probably could have handled all of that better. But alas, she's only human! At least the two of them managed to come to a sort of reconciliation by the end. </p>
<p>Let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Quiet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone! Bit of a chill chapter here. <br/>Hope you all enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As reluctant as Amira was to do so, she eventually slowly removed herself from the hug when she realised how hungry she was. It was definitely past the time when she usually ate dinner. As she slowly drew her arms back to her sides, and took a small step back, Gaster took her silent hint and did the same, clasping his hands in front of him. After a moment of hesitation, Amira met his grey gaze. He looked like he was feeling a little better than he had been before.</p>
<p>“Guess it’s too late to get you to start cooking dinner now,” she chuckled awkwardly, keeping her tone light. “Want to get something delivered?” Gaster smiled, sheepishly signing his response, “Yes, that is a good idea.” Before elaborating via the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>You must be hungry by now. </strong>
</p>
<p>“I am!” the human laughed. “I think it’s time for you to be introduced to pizza – true, greasy comfort food.” She figured comfort food was exactly what they both needed at that moment. Gaster nodded, signing “That sounds wonderful.”</p>
<p>“Oh, it is.” Amira told him emphatically as she moved to the coffee table to grab her laptop. When she opened it and the screen flickered to life, she noticed that Gaster had been looking into NASA’s Perseverance Rover. She hid a small smile behind her hand as she opened a new tab to order the pizza.</p>
<p>She felt a little self-conscious – after the sort-of argument they had just had, and then that hug... Amira wasn’t really sure what to do or say. She really wasn’t good at reading people, and she wasn’t sure exactly where she stood with Gaster at that moment. She assumed that he was probably still upset with her, but was trying to push past it because he knew she had only been trying to help. Thankfully, Gaster pulled the biologist from her musings, catching her attention with a small gesture and showing her something he’d written in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perhaps while we wait for the food to arrive, I can help you learn some more sign language?</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded, immensely grateful for the suggestion. “Yeah, that would be great. Can we do some more on the alphabet?” She was still trying to learn it so that Gaster would be able to spell names and words she didn’t yet know the signs for. He signed “Of course,” in response, before asking her through the notebook:</p>
<p>
  <strong>Sign through the alphabet as accurately and as far as you can so that I can see the letters you need assistance with. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Ok,” Amira told him, collecting her thoughts. She always had to focus quite hard when it came to speaking in sign language – she couldn’t believe how effortlessly Gaster seemed to use it; he was so fluid and quick with it, like it was second nature to him. <em>Although, I suppose, it literally is second nature to him. </em>She began signing through the alphabet slowly, hesitating when she reached ‘K’. <em>I always forget that one</em>. “Sorry, what’s ‘K’ again?” she asked Gaster. He raised one pale hand with his pointer finger and thumb pointing up, his middle finger pointing forwards, and his remaining two fingers curled towards his palm. “Ah, thanks.” She murmured, emulating his example before continuing.</p>
<p>Gaster had to correct Amira’s ‘R’ (she had her middle finger crossed in front of her pointer, instead of the other way around), but other than that she seemed to be doing fine. She stopped after ‘T’ though, unable to remember the last few letters. “I always seem to drop off when it comes to the last bit.” She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. Gaster nodded in understanding, waving off Amira’s embarrassment before signing the remaining six letters in quick succession once, and then again more slowly. <em>How does he manage to be so graceful with those big goopy fingers?</em> She wondered.</p>
<p>Amira slowly copied the signs. Gaster smiled proudly, signing “Well done!”. The human grinned back. “Let me try and do the whole thing again real quick in case it was just a fluke.” Concentrating on remembering the mistakes she had made last time, Amira carefully made her way through the whole alphabet again, her brown eyes meeting Gaster’s gaze when she was finished. “That was perfect.” He signed, pleased with her progress. “I’m still pretty slow, though. I’ve got a long way to go.” She responded, downplaying herself. Gaster shook his head emphatically and turned to the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>The speed at which you sign is immaterial. It only matters that you understand the signs and can use them to communicate. Remember that I have been using sign language my entire life; you have only been learning for a few weeks. With time and practice, it will come more naturally and more quickly to you.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira appreciated his reassurance. “You’re right, I guess.”</p>
<p>“Of course I am right,” he joked, smiling back at her. Suddenly, they were both startled by a sharp knock at the front door.</p>
<p>“Must be the pizza.” Amira breathed, hopping to her feet, heading straight for the door and opening it. Gaster, not wanting to risk being seen, hastily ducked behind the couch.</p>
<p>The biologist greeted the pizza guy briefly, took the pizzas from his arms, and thanked him before shutting the door behind her and returning to the living room. “He’s gone, you can come out now.” She told Gaster, hiding a smile at his skittishness. He rose from behind the couch, eyeing the pizza boxes with interest. He started to move towards the doorway to the living room, presumably to go into the kitchen. Amira stopped him with a hand on his arm, though – “It’s kind of a tradition to lounge around while you eat pizza. To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever eaten pizza while sitting at a table. We should keep watching Star Wars!” she exclaimed, rising to her tiptoes briefly in excitement.</p>
<p>Gaster looked puzzled at the notion of not eating dinner at a table but perked up at the mention of Star Wars. “Alright,” he signed, sitting down on the couch, placing his hands in his lap. Amira sunk down beside him, handing him a box. She had decided to go simple and just order two vegetarian supreme pizzas (without pineapple, naturally - Amira couldn’t stand that stuff on pizza). The biologist lifted the lid of her box, feasting her dark eyes on the cheesy goodness inside. <em>Perfection.</em> Gaster had done the same beside her and was studying the pizza before him with intrigue (and a hint of confusion). He signed something to her that she didn’t understand. “Sorry, I didn’t understand that.” Amira carefully signed the phrase as she spoke – she knew he could hear her, but she figured that the more she practiced signing herself, the easier it would be for her to understand him.</p>
<p>Gaster began signing again; spelling the word this time, before doing the sign for it again so that Amira would remember it. “C-u-t-l-e-r-y?”</p>
<p>“Oh,” her eyes widened, and she started to explain. “Well, usually we just eat pizza with our hands. If you want cutlery though, I’ll go get some.” Understanding dawned on Gaster’s features, and although he looked slightly apprehensive at the thought of eating with his hands (which silently amused Amira to no end), he wrote in the notebook:</p>
<p>
  <strong>No, it is alright. If this is intended to be eaten without cutlery, I will eat it without cutlery. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Ok.” Amira told him. She found his sincerity and his genuine attempts to learn more about human cultures quite endearing. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, briefly got up to put ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in and returned to her seat beside Gaster, tucking her bare feet underneath her before pressing ‘play’. Amira noticed that he was hesitating to eat the pizza, so she picked up a piece of hers and began to eat it. She could see in her periphery that he was watching to see how she ate so that he could do the same – he was trying to be subtle, though, so she pretended not to notice.</p>
<p>After a couple of seconds, out of the corner of her eye Amira saw him gingerly pick up a piece the same way she had and take a small bite. After a moment of contemplation, he continued eating. The human smiled to herself – <em>he likes it, then</em>. She settled back into the couch and focussed on the movie playing in front of them, mindful of Gaster’s presence right beside her.</p>
<p>Once they had finished watching The Empire Strikes Back (and finished <em>all</em> the pizza), Amira and Gaster had both decided to take an early night and go to sleep. Amira had left Gaster to his air mattress near May’s tank and retired to her own room to get some rest.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>It was Sunday, which meant that like the day before, Amira didn’t have to go to work. She decided that she would call Quinn that morning and catch up with her; she knew that being a zookeeper Quinn was busiest between 6 and 9am, so she would call her at 10 when she was on break.</p>
<p>In the meanwhile, Amira left her bedroom to check if Gaster was awake yet. Amira was very much a morning person, whereas Gaster was certainly not. He usually got up a couple of hours after her – and even then, although he was <em>technically </em>awake, it took a bit of time before he was fully alert. Sure enough, as Amira quietly padded into the living room, she saw that Gaster was seated on the side of the air mattress, blinking slowly. Clearly, he had only just woken up.</p>
<p>“Good morning!” Amira greeted him quietly with a little wave. He yawned, raising a hand to his mouth, and turned to face her, signing a slow “Good morning,” in response.</p>
<p>“Let me know when you want to go into the kitchen so you can get some breakfast.” She told him, preparing to turn around and leave him to wake up a little more. He stood, however, and made his way over to her, rubbing his eyes before signing a brief “Now?”. Amira nodded in assent, carefully picking up his soul from the coffee table and ferrying it over to the kitchen, walking slowly so that he wouldn’t fall behind.</p>
<p>She would never admit it to him, but Amira found Gaster quite... <em>adorable</em> in the mornings. He was usually so composed and eloquent; it was strangely endearing to see him like this. She didn’t think he would ever speak in one-word sentences or ask incomplete questions when he was fully awake. Nevertheless, she left him to his own devices in the kitchen, watching him sink down into a stool at the benchtop.</p>
<p>Amira walked back to her room and grabbed her phone from the bedside table, unplugging it from its charger. It was just past 10:00am – the perfect time to call Quinn. So she scrolled down to her contact and rang her friend, seating herself cross-legged at the foot of her bed. After a few rings, Quinn picked up.</p>
<p>“Hey Amira!” it was always so nice for Amira to hear the familiar sound of her friend’s voice.</p>
<p>“Hi Quinn!” she responded in kind. “This isn’t a bad time, is it?”</p>
<p>“No, no,” she reassured Amira, “I’m on my break. I should be obligation-free for the next half an hour.”</p>
<p>“Good. Speaking of obligations – how are the cubs? I heard about them on the news!” Amira gushed. Quinn was a carnivore keeper and worked mostly with the zoo’s endangered Sun Bears – one of whom had recently given birth to three healthy cubs. It was a <em>huge</em> deal, and Amira knew that Quinn was just as excited about it as she was.</p>
<p>“They’re amazing!” she told Amira, “It’s honestly such a miracle. We didn’t think we’d be able to get them to breed. Not here, anyway. You know, they’re tropical animals – we were thinking we’d have to build special incubated rooms for them, and everything...” she trailed off.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” the biologist scoffed good-naturedly, “I don’t know how you can survive in Canada, Quinn. It’s too damn cold over there!” She was joking, but only partially. Amira and Quinn had grown up in a much warmer climate, being Australians – Amira had never been to Canada herself, but she couldn’t imagine living somewhere where it snowed every winter (and sometimes even in the summer).</p>
<p>“I know, I know.” Quinn said. Amira could have sworn she could <em>feel</em> her friend playfully rolling her hazel eyes through the phone.</p>
<p>“Listen Quinn, you’re gonna be so proud of me” Amira told her, “Last week I went out to dinner with Alphys and her girlfriend and two of their friends.” She paused at Quinn’s gasp of excitement, before continuing. “And! I’ve also made friends with Gaster – the guy I told you about before, remember?”</p>
<p>“Who are you and what’ve you done with Amira?” Quinn asked with mock seriousness. “But seriously, I’m so glad you <em>finally</em> have friends in Ebott. Life becomes so much more exciting when you have people to go out with!”</p>
<p>“Well, not everyone finds it as easy as you do to make friends in a new country so quickly.” She teased, eliciting a laugh from Quinn.</p>
<p>“Hey, while we’re on the topic of new countries...” Quinn began, “are you planning on making a trip back home anytime soon? To see your family and stuff?”</p>
<p>That was an interesting question. Amira paused to think – she hadn’t been home in just over a year, so she was due to pop back for a visit at some point. Besides, she was almost finished with her research for her Master’s. <em>I might even be able to finish early.</em> “You know, I don’t really have anything planned at the moment, but I could go once I’ve finished my Master’s in a couple months.”</p>
<p>“Ok, well, let me know.” Quinn told her. “We can both visit home together!”</p>
<p>“Sounds good. I’ll let you know.” the biologist responded. She stopped for a moment, contemplating, before deciding that she would tell her about her new roommate without revealing too many details.</p>
<p>“Remember how I told you about Gaster?” Amira asked casually.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Quinn replied slowly. “One of your new friends. The guy you found in the Underground, right?”</p>
<p>“That’s the one.” She confirmed, “He’s actually staying with me on the surface right now.”</p>
<p>“What?” Quinn laughed in confusion. “That so isn’t like you! He’s staying in your apartment? With you? Are you trying to tell me something?” she took on a sly tone.</p>
<p>“Wait wait wait wait!” Amira hurried to explain. “No! No, it’s not like that! We’re friends! Just friends!”</p>
<p>“... Well then why is he living with you?” Quinn teased.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of complicated.” Amira began, “I can’t really get into it too much, but he’s kind of hiding. And he doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”</p>
<p>Quinn was quiet for a moment. “Ok. Just be careful! I don’t want you getting murdered in your sleep or anything.”</p>
<p>Amira laughed, despite knowing she was only half-joking. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. He’s very sweet. Anyway,” she quickly proceeded, lest Quinn latch onto her last statement and spin it into something it wasn’t, “I should probably let you get back to work.”</p>
<p>“Good idea,” Quinn said lightly, “I only have like 10 minutes of break left. Talk to you soon!”</p>
<p>“Bye, Quinn.” Amira smiled, hanging up. She always felt happier after talking to Quinn – her friend just tended to have that effect on people.</p>
<p>Amira pushed herself off her bed and walked out of her room again to check on Gaster in the kitchen. Thankfully he hadn’t fallen asleep again – he was eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen counter, looking a bit more awake. When he heard her walking in, he turned to face the human and got her attention. “Amira, I have been thinking.” He paused to write in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is unfair of me to stay here in your home without contributing financially in some way. I have not had the need for money since my accident, but I do have a bank account. It has been untouched for all this time, but it should still be accessible and should still have money in it. I will give you my account details so that I can contribute. </strong>
  
</p>
<p>Amira’s first instinct was to tell him not to worry about it, but he was right. It wouldn’t be a bad idea. She didn’t exactly have infinite money; only what she had from her scholarship and grants. And supporting two people rather than just one was more expensive than she was used to. But then she realised that there was a problem.</p>
<p>“I seriously appreciate that, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to go to your bank and access your account even if I do have all the details. I’m pretty sure only you can do that. I’d need ID or something... and there’s no way I’m fooling anyone into thinking that I’m you. I’m not even a monster.” She paused for a moment, wondering whether she would be pushing him too far again. “If we were going to access your account, you would have to come with me.”</p>
<p>Gaster was silent, thinking it over. He looked conflicted between wanting to help financially and not wanting to leave the house at the risk of being recognised. Amira wanted to try and reassure him, but she kept her mouth shut. She would let him decide this on his own – the last thing she wanted to do was pressure him to leave the house in the light of what had happened yesterday. After a bit of deliberation, Gaster began to write something in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I will go with you; but at the request that if I see someone who could recognise me, you will assist me in avoiding them. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Of course!” Amira agreed immediately, nodding once. <em>This is amazing!</em> She was so glad Gaster was finally going to leave the apartment for a bit – he had literally been inside all week. Not to mention, this was a chance for her to prove to Gaster that he could trust her again after yesterday’s events. She was determined that this would go well.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright! I know this chapter was pretty low-key, but trust me – it’s all important! You’ll see why soon.<br/>I’m super excited for next chapter, because the end of that chapter is where I start to deviate from the original version. Chapter 15 will be completely new material. <br/>Let me know what you thought of this one, and I’ll hopefully see you all next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. An Idea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone!!! This one is a LONG chapter. But it wraps up the first arc of this story, so I had to make sure everything’s been wrapped up that needs to be.<br/>It’s also the last chapter that will have content from the old version in it. After this we’re in completely uncharted territory :D<br/>If you’re here after reading the old version, I hope you prefer this plot change. If you haven’t read the old version, I hope you enjoy everything that’s revealed in this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira and Gaster had decided together that they would head down to the bank after lunch. That is, until Amira realised it was Sunday.</p>
<p>“Wait a minute,” she told Gaster, “Will the bank even be open today? It’s Sunday.” He looked at her strangely, before signing in response “Of course it is open. Why would it not be?”</p>
<p>“It’s just that human banks generally close on Sundays. So we’d normally have to wait ‘till tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“Why?” he signed. He looked genuinely interested.</p>
<p>“Well I think it stemmed from a religious thing about not working on Sundays. I don’t know why they still keep doing it though – most businesses do open on Sundays now.” Amira explained. Gaster merely nodded slowly; she had a feeling he would be doing more research into that later.</p>
<p>“Well, I guess considering it’s not a human bank, it should be open then. We’ll head off after lunch?” Amira questioned. Gaster signed a quick “Yes.” in response. It was pretty clear to her that his distractedness was caused by his nervousness at leaving the apartment, so she decided she would let him be until they were ready to leave.</p>
<p>The human busied herself, checking on May and organising some things on her desk in her room. It was then that she realised that she was nervous, too. <em>What if Gaster does see someone who recognises him? How do I handle that? How would he handle that?</em> Amira told herself that she was being prematurely paranoid – they would cross that bridge if and when they got to it.</p>
<p>In the meantime, she moved to the kitchen and started to rifle through the fridge for some ideas on what to make for lunch.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>

<p>Amira dumped the plates into the sink, deciding to wash them later. She and Gaster had eaten lunch (she’d gone simple and just made sandwiches), and it was time to head off. The biologist had been hoping that Gaster’s nervousness would lessen over the previous couple of hours, but it seemed that instead the opposite had happened. He had told her that at monster banks, rather than needing a driver’s license or some other form of ID, they just scanned peoples’ souls to verify their identities. So not only was he anxious about being recognised, but he was also worried that because his soul was incomplete, it wouldn’t be able to be scanned properly.</p>
<p>Amira was trying to reassure him as best as she could, but he still seemed incredibly apprehensive. “Hey, it’s going to be fine,” she told him as she picked up his soul from the coffee table and placed it gently into her bag alongside her phone and wallet, “if your soul can’t be scanned, it doesn’t matter. I can still afford to keep us both alive.” She said light-heartedly, trying to brighten him up a little. He just nodded in response, seemingly unconvinced. Nevertheless, the human opened the front door and stepped out, holding it open for Gaster with her hip. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped out after her, glancing down the hall to confirm that there was no one there.</p>
<p>It was a short trip to the car; once he was inside, Gaster visibly relaxed a little. “What’s the bank called? Can you type the name in here?” Amira asked him, handing him her phone to enter the name into Google maps. The monster gently took the device, and Amira realised almost immediately that his fingers were definitely too big to type on it. Gaster seemed to realise this as well as he cast his eyes down to the keyboard, and then back to Amira. The two made eye contact, then immediately both began laughing at the incongruity of it all. “Sorry,” Amira giggled as Gaster handed the phone back, “I probably should have realised my tiny phone screen would be too small for you to type on.”</p>
<p>“It is alright,”, the monster signed, still amused, “It is called The B-A-N-K of the U-N-D-E-R-G-R-O-U-N-D”. He spelled out the words he knew Amira didn’t know the signs for yet.</p>
<p><em>Of course that’s what it’s called</em>, Amira griped to herself fondly as she typed the name in herself, <em>Monsters and their practical names.</em> “Thanks,” she smiled. He signed “You’re welcome,” but had begun to look distracted again as the moment of levity wore off, anxiously watching the carpark out of the window.</p>
<p>The drive was short and peaceful, but Amira could practically <em>feel</em> Gaster’s mind whirring beside her the entire time. Thankfully, she found a parking spot outside the bank fairly easily, although it was a little narrow for her large car. Amira had learned to drive in her mother’s station wagon, so had always had an affinity for big cars. She felt safer and more secure in them, but also just thought they looked better than smaller cars in general.</p>
<p>Before she stepped out of her car, though, Amira took a moment to study her surroundings. The bank ahead looked just like a normal human bank – except, of course, it was full of monsters. And it really was <em>full </em>of monsters. For a moment, the thought crossed her mind that maybe they should head back to the apartment and come back on a day when it was less busy. When there were less people inside who might know who Gaster was.</p>
<p>But she stopped those thoughts in their tracks. She was starting to let Gaster’s nervousness bleed into her. <em>It’ll be fine.</em> “Ready to go?” Amira asked him, giving him a sideways glance. “Yes,” he signed, meeting her gaze. The human woman nodded and opened her door, stepping out and shutting it firmly behind her. Gaster opened his door with a shaky hand but didn’t get out, eyes flicking around to assess who was around them.</p>
<p>“It’s pretty busy in there,” Amira spoke, trying to distract him, “which should work to our advantage. No one will notice us in the middle of a crowd like that.” He didn’t exactly seem reassured as they walked up to the revolving doors of the bank together. Amira stepped through and went straight for the line of people waiting to be served. She nervously realised that if Gaster was ever going to be recognised, it would be here. He seemed to come to the same realisation, because he had positioned himself directly behind the human woman, as if to hide himself. Not that it mattered – he was substantially taller than her, so his face was still completely visible.</p>
<p>Luckily, the line seemed to be moving quickly (<em>why can’t human banks be this efficient?</em>), and everyone seemed to be too focussed on getting their own business sorted out to pay attention to either of them. Amira swept her dark gaze around the bank, curious about how everything operated. She could see the identity-verifying soul scanners Gaster had mentioned up the front. They looked kind of like metal detectors used in airports – monsters would step through, and their souls would be scanned from inside them. Amira had thought that they would have to bring their souls out and put them into a chamber or something to be scanned... <em>just like Alphys’ Soul Tracker</em>, she recalled.</p>
<p>Amira’s mind came to a screeching halt, homing in on her last thought<em>. The Soul Tracker!</em> Her thoughts began to go into overdrive as she realised the implications of the device’s existence. Alphys had told her that it could track the location of any soul, given that it had been scanned beforehand. <em>Maybe </em>she would be able to get it from Alphys somehow. <em>Maybe</em> Gaster would be ok with using it to scan his soul. <em>Maybe </em>it would be able to show them the locations of all the other fragments as well as the one it had scanned. <em>Maybe,</em> just maybe, it could be used to help him restore his soul.</p>
<p><em>But how can I get it?</em> Alphys had been extremely secretive about the device – she was clearly ashamed of it; ashamed of how invasive it was and the dangerous potential it had in the wrong hands. And it wasn’t like Amira could actually tell her what she was using it for. Alphys didn’t remember who Gaster was, and he had made it pretty clear that he didn’t want anyone knowing that he was still around.</p>
<p>Amira was drawn out of her thoughts when she realised that she and Gaster had reached the front of the line. <em>That was fast</em>. “How can I help you?” the teller asked with a friendly tone. Gaster began signing to him – it was too fast and there were too many unfamiliar signs for Amira to understand. To her surprise, the teller responded in fluent sign language. She was a little confused;<em> do all monsters know sign language</em>? If they had gone to a human bank, Amira had no doubt that the tellers wouldn’t be able to understand him.</p>
<p>When Gaster stepped into the ID soul scanner, Amira realised that they might have a problem. His soul was in her bag – not in him. <em>Is the scanner even going to work? Would it be suspicious if I just took out the soul piece and put it in the machine?</em> She decided to just wait and see what happened before she attracted suspicion. A bank was literally the worst place to make a scene. To her surprise, the machine scanned the monster over once, a green light illuminating him. <em>Well,</em> Amira reasoned, <em>he must be a projection of the soul piece. </em>That would be why she couldn’t see him unless she was near it – so it made sense that he would be able to be scanned without any issue.</p>
<p>As Gaster continued to speak to the teller, Amira turned her attention to the rest of the bank, being unable to understand most of what they were saying. To her relief, no one seemed to be looking at either of them, and no one seemed to have recognised Gaster. This was going so much better than she could have hoped! Within minutes, the human felt a familiar cool touch on her shoulder. She turned to see Gaster holding up a brand-new sleek credit card. “Awesome!” Amira beamed, reflecting the monster’s enthusiasm. “Shall we get out of here?” she asked, already knowing what he would say. He gave the human woman a look as if to chide her for asking such an obvious question and signed a simple “Yes.”</p>
<p>The pair started heading towards the revolving door, walking side-by-side. Within seconds, however, Gaster froze in his tracks. <em>Oh shit.</em> Realising he must have seen someone he knew, Amira followed his gaze to see a tall, cat-like monster who had just come through the revolving door. She double-checked that Gaster was indeed looking at the cat monster, because he didn’t seem to have reacted to Gaster’s presence in any way, merely giving the pair a cursory once-over, his yellow eyes passing over them.</p>
<p>Once his initial shock had worn off, though, Gaster continued on his way out of the bank. Amira followed, a little lost as to what had just transpired, but eager to get back home. She refrained from asking anything until they were both back inside the car, free from the risk of being recognised. Once Amira was in her seat with the doors shut and locked, she turned to Gaster, who still looked a little shaken, grey eye-lights dim. “Did you know that guy?” she questioned. He nodded slowly in response, elaborating through the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>That was one of my neighbours from Snowdin. We were friendly – we knew each other. But he did not recognise me at all when he saw me.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was quiet for a minute as she processed what that meant. That guy was someone who, ordinarily, would have recognised Gaster and greeted him in some way. He had definitely <em>seen </em>Gaster... <em>but maybe he didn’t recognise him or something? Or maybe he just had other things on his mind? </em></p>
<p><em>Or... maybe Sans is wrong. </em>The skeleton monster had suggested that people’s memories of Gaster might be forcibly restored if they saw him again, but... apparently, that wasn’t the case. Amira didn’t <em>want</em> to believe that, but some part of her mind nagged that it was going to be a lot more complicated than people’s memories being miraculously restored after simply laying eyes on him.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.” Amira told him simply, taking a minute to think about her next words. “There must be another way to help people remember. I’ll help you find a way.” <em>You could use the Soul Tracker.</em> The thought leapt to the front of her mind, and she hesitated to shut it down this time. It was starting to seem like putting Gaster’s soul back together was the only chance he had at living a normal life again. She would have to think more about that later.</p>
<p>Gaster was still quiet, presumably dwelling on his perceived hopelessness at ever being remembered again. Amira decided to change the topic, not wanting him to spiral. “Hey, so... that bank teller knew sign language.” She blurted awkwardly, inwardly cringing at herself.</p>
<p>“Of course.” Gaster signed slowly. He looked confused as to what point she was trying to make. <em>I seriously need to work on my subtlety.</em></p>
<p>“Well, it’s just that if we had gone to a human bank, I’m like 100% sure the teller wouldn’t have been able to understand you. They probably would have had to get an interpreter or something. Most humans just never learn sign language. Myself included, until I met you.” She admitted, a little ashamed. Gaster took to the notebook to respond.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Why are humans not taught sign language in school? All monsters are taught sign language in the same way they are taught spoken language. This way everyone can communicate with each other. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was astounded; and she felt kind of bad. Gaster must have been so confused when she hadn’t understood him at all when they had first met. He had probably never had to deal with people not being able to communicate with him before. “That’s... a really good point. I have no idea why we don’t learn sign language in school or anything, to be honest. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of messed up.” she told him, contemplative. Gaster took to the notebook again.</p>
<p>
  <strong>A cultural difference, I suppose. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira sensed a joking tone in his words and huffed out a little laugh. “I guess so.” <em>Humans are kind of shitty. </em>“But hey, you left the apartment!” she tried to be more positive. Gaster smiled, embarrassed, and signed “Yes, I did.” </p>
<p>
  <strong>Perhaps I will endeavour to do so again at some point in the future. </strong>
</p>
<p>Beaming at the progress he’d made, Amira started her car, and began the drive back to the apartment.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira breathed a sigh of relief as she hurried into her lab building with two minutes to spare. She had slept through her alarm by almost half an hour, and although Gaster had heard it and wanted to wake her up so she wouldn’t be late, he was trapped in the living room because it was where his soul fragment was. And so, Amira had leapt from her bed in a panic and had to frenziedly rush out of the apartment with a hurried goodbye to Gaster (and May) lest she be late to work.</p>
<p>The biologist planned on saying hello to Alphys (and perhaps trying to figure out a way to convince the lizard monster to lend her the Soul Tracker), but she was startled to see her supervisor, Ning, standing outside her lab. “Hi, Ning!” Amira greeted her, still a little breathless from her run. <em>Really?</em> – she had known that the older woman would show up to check on her progress at some point soon... <em>but does it have to be today?</em></p>
<p>“Hello, Amira.” Ning gave the biologist a friendly yet professional smile as she buzzed herself into the lab, holding the door open for her supervisor to go through first. “I guess you know why I’m here,” the older woman chuckled, turning to face Amira once they were both inside.</p>
<p>“Yes, of course.” The young woman affirmed, opening her laptop, placing it on the lab bench in front of her, and pulling up her thesis. “Here’s what I’ve got so far– let me grab my samples and lab-work together for you to look at as well.” Ning gave the biologist a nod of assent, settling into the chair and resting her chin on her hand as she read through Amira’s work. Amira bustled around the lab, pulling samples out of the fridge and diagrams and printed sequences of code out of various drawers around the room, gathering them to place next to Ning on the lab bench.</p>
<p>After Ning had read Amira’s draft thesis, the biologist explained all of her lab-work, samples and other bits and pieces of evidence to Ning in painstaking detail. She had worked <em>damn</em> hard on all of this – she was so passionate about her work, and she wanted to make sure that her supervisor had the chance to appreciate it fully. She wanted her to be impressed. She wanted the <em>world</em> to be impressed if – <em>when</em> – she finished it and got it published. She knew that she had made significant scientific progress through her research, and she needed to share it.</p>
<p>“This is good stuff.” Ning murmured. “Really good. I’m surprised at how much you’ve done,” she continued, eyebrows raised in thinly veiled surprise. “at this rate, you’ll almost definitely be able to finish early; well before your deadline. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were able to wrap all of this up within the next month.” Amira struggled to contain her enthusiasm but couldn’t help letting a wide grin slip. “Congratulations, Amira. You’re doing really well.” Ning’s dark eyes met Amira’s and she gave the younger woman a smile.</p>
<p>“Thank you so much!” Amira gushed, still beaming. She was so glad that Ning liked her work, and that she was in her good graces. It was through Ning that she got her research money, after all. The older woman could pull her funding at any point – but it looked like she wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore. Amira escorted Ning out of the lab, waving goodbye to her as she left the building. She suddenly felt totally refreshed and motivated; she felt inspired to work even harder.</p>
<p>Needless to say, Amira got a lot of work done that day.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>By late afternoon, Amira was satisfied with the amount of work she had done, and she pushed herself up from her seat and began packing up her things in preparation to leave. As she pushed out of the door of the lab, it occurred to the biologist that in all the panic and shock that morning with her supervisor showing up, she hadn’t had the chance to say hi to Alphys. It was getting later in the day, but she thought perhaps she could manage to catch her friend on her way out if she went looking now.</p>
<p>Amira raised her fist as she reached the door, knocking on it sharply. Where usually she would have heard Alphys’ timid voice inviting you in, there was only silence. Amira tried the handle and heard a click; it was unlocked. Pushing the door open with her forearm, the human woman called out to Alphys. “Hey, Alphys. You in here?” she questioned. No response. She stepped into the lab – all the lights were still on, and Alphys’ work hadn’t been packed up yet. Evidently she hadn’t left for the day yet; she was probably in the bathroom or something. Amira decided to stay where she was and wait for her to come back so they could catch up quickly before she left.</p>
<p>It wasn’t more than a few seconds before the biologist felt her dark eyes gravitate towards where she knew the Soul Tracker was. On her left, tucked behind various other devices of Alphys’. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw it, and her breath caught in her throat. <em>This could change everything.</em> She thought, eyes roving over the small device. Its body and glass chamber were covered in a light coat of dust, betraying its neglect. Amira wasn’t sure if it would be able to get a reading on just a fragment of Gaster’s soul, nor was she sure if it would be able to track the other pieces based on scanning the one they had.</p>
<p><em>But it’s the best chance he has, right? It’s worth a shot.</em> Amira thought to herself. But there was still the issue of how to get Alphys to allow her to borrow it without being able to tell her why. Plus, she <em>needed</em> to discuss this with Gaster before she made any moves on her own. Her mistake the other day had taught her that. And she was fairly certain Gaster might not even be willing to try anything like this yet.</p>
<p><em>No.</em> She had to bide her time with this. She had to be patient and wait for Gaster to reach the point she was at.</p>
<p>Amira kept that thought in her mind as she turned her back on the Soul Tracker and began the walk home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So! Amira’s figured out a plan! Looks like we’re finally heading into some juicy plot stuff...</p>
<p>The first arc of this story is officially completed! So, a bit of a time skip will happen between this chapter and the next one. </p>
<p>Another quick thing to mention – I’ve been managing to get all these chapters out super fast because they had already been written for the old version – I just had to edit them, but most of it was pretty similar. The rest of the chapters from this point onwards will probably take a bit longer because I’ve got to plan them, write them and edit them. I don’t know exactly how often I’ll be posting – I’ll aim for at least twice a week, but it may end up being more or less than that. I’ll just have to see how it goes. </p>
<p>Anyway, thank you to everyone who has read this far! I hope you’ve enjoyed the first arc of the story. The next chapter will be up soon. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Retrospective</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone! </p>
<p>Well, this chapter kicks off the second arc of the story. I really hope you guys enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira felt like the past two months had easily been the most eventful of her life. Not in terms of work, but in terms of general <em>life</em> things.</p>
<p>For one, she felt like her relationship with Gaster had solidified, and she could truly consider him a proper friend. To be fair, they had been living together for just under three months. Their routine was well-established – the pair had continued to take turns with dinner duty, and had fallen into the pattern of doing little sign language learning sessions each day before dinner. Amira had learned a lot more sign over the past two months – or, she could <em>understand</em> more, at least. She was still nowhere near good enough to use it coherently herself and speak in full sentences, but that didn’t worry her too much. She had been mostly focussing on being able to understand what Gaster was saying, rather than being able to sign fluently herself. He still had to use the notebook, of course, but Amira was proud of the fact that she could now understand many common phrases and sentences.</p>
<p>Gaster and Amira had also developed a sort-of tradition of watching a movie together each night. Amira, being a bit of a movie enthusiast, had a reasonable collection of her favourite DVDs stowed in the rack under the TV. They had quickly worked their way through all nine main-series Star Wars movies, as well as Rogue One. Amira refused to acknowledge that Solo existed, so they hadn’t watched that. Then, Amira had introduced the monster to Jurassic Park, Planet of the Apes (both the 1968 version and the more recent trilogy), and the Lord of the Rings series.</p>
<p>Gaster had told her that he enjoyed the sci-fi genre the most (granted, most of what they had watched was sci-fi) because he loved seeing the creative ideas and worlds humans had come up with. Amira noticed that he was particularly fascinated by the fictional technologies depicted in the movies and was absolutely enamoured with the notion of space travel. She would often find the monster avidly scrolling through astronomical journal articles and websites on her laptop, absorbing all the knowledge he could.</p>
<p>Amira had taken a couple of astrobiology courses in her undergraduate degree, and she had always had an interest in space herself. So naturally she had been extremely grateful for the chance to finally have someone to nerd out with, share interesting space facts with, and have actual educated discussions with! Amira had grown up in a household where none of her relatives were particularly interested in the things that she was, and she hadn’t really found friends with common interests until she started university. So, she relished the fact that she got to spend so much time with Gaster – he was smart and easily excitable when it came to any sort of scientific discussion. It felt like they could talk for hours on end without getting even remotely bored (and sometimes, they did!).</p>
<p>In other news, Alphys and Undyne had hosted their anime night a while ago, as promised. In fact, it had gone so well that the pair had since hosted two more. Of course, Amira had attended all three – to be honest, she wasn’t crazy about the actual anime itself (Mew Mew Kissy Cutie just wasn’t her kind of show), but she had really grown to enjoy spending time with Alphys and Undyne.</p>
<p>Alphys had emerged from her shell much further at those movie nights than she ever had around Amira at work. The biologist wasn’t sure if it was because of the non-work environment, or because of Undyne’s presence (or both), but whatever it was, she was glad to get to know this side of Alphys. The lizard monster’s nerdy personality and quirky sense of humour was very endearing, and what had been a friendly workplace relationship between her and Amira had become more of a personal friendship.</p>
<p>Amira had also been able to get to know Undyne better. Up until the group dinner they had had months ago, Amira hadn’t been able to see Undyne as much more than Alphys’ loud and occasionally destructive girlfriend. But now – although the fish monster was still brash and loud at times – Amira had come to understand that Undyne was someone with a heart of gold, and was endlessly supportive of everyone around her, most of all Alphys. The human woman found their relationship quite adorable, even if she sometimes felt like a bit of a third wheel around them.</p>
<p>Sans and Papyrus had been invited to the most recent anime night, which had helped with that. Amira hadn’t seen Papyrus since that first group dinner months ago, but was glad to see the tall, rambunctious skeleton again. He was incredibly enthusiastic about the anime, with he and Alphys seeming to feed off of each other’s excitement, keeping the energy levels high throughout the night. Sans, on the other hand, mostly seemed like he was just there for his brother’s sake. Since their conversation about Gaster, Amira had occasionally texted Sans on-and-off. For the most part, it was just small talk, but Sans had messaged her a couple of his theories on Gaster’s soul and the impacts its shattering may have had on the multiverse, along with the occasional awful pun. Amira had been careful not to tell the diminutive skeleton anything more about Gaster and hadn’t yet revealed her ideas about the Soul Tracker to anyone. Neither Sans nor Amira ever mentioned Gaster around their other friends – it was as if an unspoken agreement had formed between them.</p>
<p>On another note, Amira’s research was going wonderfully. In fact, her thesis was almost complete. The biologist had already completed the bulk of the work before she ever went down to the Underground – she had extensively studied the morphologies and physiologies of various monsters, and the differences between monsters from different areas of the Underground. Once she had been able to actually go Underground and study the environmental conditions and pressures, she had been able to put all of that research into context. It had been sort of like working backwards, but for the sake of practicality, Amira had managed.</p>
<p>Since the trip when Amira had brought Gaster up to the surface with her, she had returned to the Underground several more times for further data collection – but on her own. At first it had been a little lonely down there without Gaster, but her solitude had also enabled her to completely engross herself in her work as she usually would. Slowly but steadily, the puzzle of monster evolutionary history was coming together before Amira’s eyes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Gaster had begun conducting his own research – aside from the extracurricular reading he often did solely out of personal interest. He had begun investigating human energy sources: fossil fuels, and the growing range of renewables (that unfortunately weren’t being implemented widely or quickly enough). He had told Amira recently that he was considering how to go about designing a version of the Core for the surface – but apparently there were many complications on the surface world that he hadn’t had to worry about when building the original Core. Amira was glad that he had found something to devote his energy to while she was out working most days, although she couldn’t forget what Sans had told her about how unhealthily fixated Gaster had become about the Core before his accident. He didn’t seem to be getting sucked too deeply into it from what Amira could see, but she was nevertheless subtly keeping a close eye on him in case he began to spiral into obsessiveness again.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira yawned quietly as she padded back into the living room. In all the time that had passed, she had never dismissed her idea of using Alphys’ Soul Tracker to locate the lost pieces of Gaster’s soul. She hadn’t brought it up to the monster yet, but as she sank down on the couch beside him while he browsed Netflix for something to watch, she knew that now was as good a time as ever. Two months ago, after her faux pas regarding her conversation with Sans, Amira wouldn’t have asked because she knew that Gaster’s likely answer would be a resounding ‘no’.</p>
<p>But the trust and friendship between the pair had grown a lot since then. And Amira knew that the more time that passed, the easier it would be easy for both of them to slip into complacency; to just accept that this was the way things were going to be forever. But she couldn’t forget how distressed Gaster had been upon learning that no one in his life, except Sans, remembered him at all. She couldn’t forget that as of right now, she was literally the <em>only</em> person in his life. Surely that wasn’t healthy. Surely that was no way to live.</p>
<p>So, Amira tucked her bare feet underneath her and turned to face Gaster on the couch, taking a deep breath. “Hey, Gaster.” Her solemn tone caught his attention, and he drew his grey gaze away from the TV to look at her as she continued. “I’ve had something on my mind for a while, and I wanted to ask you about it.” The monster focussed his undivided attention on his human companion as she considered her next words.</p>
<p>“It’s about your soul.” Amira stated simply. Gaster placed the remote onto the coffee table.</p>
<p>He studied her for a moment, before apprehensively signing “Please elaborate.”</p>
<p>“Remember how I talked to Sans a while ago?” Amira began slowly, wanting to make sure she was expressing herself properly and wouldn’t start rambling, “And how he thought it might be possible to find the other pieces of your soul and put them back together?”</p>
<p>Gaster’s hollow eyes flicked down to his hands briefly, before signing “... Yes. But, Amira-”</p>
<p>“Wait - please hear me out first? Please?” the woman implored.</p>
<p>“Alright.” Gaster signed simply, resting his hands in his lap as he awaited Amira’s idea.</p>
<p>“Thank you.” She smiled gratefully at him, briefly adjusting her glasses. “I think I’ve figured out a way we might be able to find the other pieces. My friend, Alphys, has a device called the Soul Tracker. She made it to track humans that fell Underground, but I think it might be able to scan the piece of your soul that we’ve got and help us track down the others.” Amira watched Gaster with bated breath.</p>
<p>He looked a little caught off guard – “You know Alphys?” he asked. Amira remembered that Sans had mentioned Gaster had been like a mentor to Alphys before he had been shattered.</p>
<p>“Yes.” She answered honestly, “I haven’t told her that you’re here on the surface or anything, and I don’t plan to – unless and until you’re ok with it, that is.” She reassured him. “But what do you think about the Soul Tracker?” Amira leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs, keen to hear his response.</p>
<p>Gaster was silent for some time, assessing what Amira had just told him. She watched as his eye-lights brightened ever so slightly – but his features remained cautious. He reached for the notebook and pen, slowly writing a response. </p>
<p>
  <strong>I am not certain whether such a device would be capable of working that way. Although, Alphys is a brilliant inventor.</strong>
</p>
<p>He hesitated, before writing the final sentence.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I suppose it could not hurt to try.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira had to suppress the wave of excitement that washed over her. It took everything she had not to jump for joy. Although she could tell that despite his words, Gaster was still uncertain. He wasn’t looking at her; rather his eyes were cast to the side, focussing on nothing. Evidently, he was deep in thought. Amira was acutely aware that he could change his mind at any moment. The monster began writing something else in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Although, how will you convince Alphys to allow you to use the Soul Tracker?</strong>
</p>
<p><em>Ah, that’s a good question.</em> Amira inwardly quipped. She hadn’t quite figured out the answer herself. “I know it’ll be difficult to get her permission without mentioning you to her, but Alphys and I are friends. I’m hoping that she trusts me enough not to use it for anything... sinister.” Amira reasoned. “And of course, I’ll be sure to tell her I need it for something really important. I just won’t be able to tell her exactly <em>what</em> I need it for.”</p>
<p>Gaster nodded contemplatively, signing “Alright,” before elaborating.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I do not want to raise my hopes too much, but thank you, Amira. That is an excellent idea.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Ok!” Amira smiled brightly, letting out a sigh of relief, “Thank you. I’ll have a talk to her at work tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Gaster signed a quick “Ok,” in assent. If Amira were to hazard a guess, she would say he seemed cautiously optimistic.</p>
<p>“Anyway,” she turned back to face the TV, crossing her legs and leaning heavily against the couch, “Did you decide on a movie?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Gaster signed, reaching for the remote again, seemingly grateful for her diversion. He quickly pulled up what he had been looking at.</p>
<p>“Interstellar, huh?” Amira nodded approvingly, “You’ve got good taste. It’s kind of a long one, but it’s well worth the watch. I’m game if you are.”</p>
<p>“Wonderful.” Gaster smiled, pressing ‘play’ and settling back against the couch.</p>
<p>Amira tried to focus on the opening scene, but she couldn’t stop an ecstatic grin from forming as she thought about what this could mean for Gaster. They might have actually finally figured out how to restore him to his whole self. She would just have to convince Alphys to lend her the Soul Tracker.</p>
<p>Amira shifted in her seat as she pushed those thoughts to the side, for the time being. For now, it was time to just enjoy the movie.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So! Looks like the hunt for Gaster's soul pieces is on the horizon! Now Amira just has to get Alphys' permission to use the Soul Tracker...</p>
<p>Let me know what you guys thought of this one! Hope to see you all in the next chapter :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. The Soul Tracker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh. My. Goodness. We have the first ever piece of fan art for this story!<br/>The amazingly talented TrinTerrance has drawn the little scene from chapter 2 where Gaster carries Amira up the rock platforms in Hotland. </p>
<p>Please check it out, it's super cute and very well-done:<br/>  <a>https://trinterrance.tumblr.com/post/625841420339658752/dimetrodonao3-this-is-the-fanart-i-made-for-in
</a></p>
<p>If anyone else reading ever draws any art for this story, I would love to see it! It really makes my day :D</p>
<p>Anyway - onto the chapter! We've got lots of exciting things happening in this one...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira slowly felt her consciousness being drawn into wakefulness. She was immediately aware before even opening her eyes that her neck was tilted at an awkward angle (and probably had been all night). She didn’t move her head, wanting to delay the inevitable discomfort of a neck ache. She realised she must have just woken up early, because she couldn’t yet hear her alarm. But she could hear a familiar static hum.</p>
<p>The woman slowly blinked her dark eyes open, confused. The familiar sight of her living room met her – but Amira was also acutely aware of the prominent darkening of her vision around the edges. Somewhat disoriented, she shifted her weight slightly and winced when she realised she had been sitting on her feet for hours. They were completely numb. Amira slowly worked her feet out from underneath her, groaning softly at the painful pins and needles that attacked them.</p>
<p>She turned her attention back to the room around her. The TV was still on with the Netflix end screen for Interstellar displayed. It was then that Amira’s half-asleep mind finally caught up with her. <em>Oh yeah, we were watching Interstellar... Damn, I must have fallen asleep.</em> She had been quite tired the night before, and a comfy couch and a 3-hour movie she had already seen were evidently enough to tempt her brain into an early sleep. <em>Oh god.</em> Amira’s mind ground to a screeching halt. <em>Did I fall asleep on him?</em></p>
<p>The woman became aware that she was not leaning on the arm of the sofa, as she had initially assumed. She cast her eyes to the right, trying not to move lest she wake Gaster up, and realised she was leaning heavily on the monster with her head resting on what she guessed was his shoulder. <em>Well, my neck’s going to be screwed today</em>. Amira groaned internally as she gently lifted her head upright.</p>
<p>When she did this, Amira’s attention was drawn to the fact that she had Gaster’s left arm in a vice grip, hugging it tightly to her. His arm was vaguely amorphic and felt not-fully-corporeal, but was cool and soothing to the touch. Now Amira was truly mortified. She slowly and gingerly released her grip, praying he wouldn’t wake up. She really didn’t want him to know that she had been essentially using his arm like a teddy bear. Faintly, Amira hoped she hadn’t drooled on him or anything in her sleep. <em>God, this is so embarrassing! Why are you like this, Amira?</em> Her mind scolded.</p>
<p>Now she was fully disentangled, but still leaning into Gaster for fear that shifting her weight would wake him. The biologist stretched an arm out and reached for her phone on the coffee table to check the time. It was 6:31 – super early, so there was no need for her to panic.</p>
<p>She sincerely hoped that Gaster had fallen asleep before she had, so that at least he could be spared the embarrassment she was feeling. If she was careful enough, maybe she could sneak out of this without him being any wiser. With that idea in mind, Amira gradually shifted her weight off the monster’s dark form, teeth clenched in suspense. Thankfully he didn’t stir, and Amira was able to quietly stand.</p>
<p>She cast her dark eyes over his form, able to do so properly now that she didn’t have her face pressed into his shoulder. Gaster was definitely still deep asleep. His eye sockets were closed, and Amira couldn’t see his eye-lights shining out from beneath. He was still in a sitting position but was leaning back into the couch with his head tilted to the side where she had been. <em>That can’t be comfortable. </em>Amira winced sympathetically.</p>
<p>Then she noticed that her glasses were folded up and neatly positioned on the arm of the sofa next to him. <em>Oh no. I definitely fell asleep on him while he was still awake.</em> Amira sighed inwardly as she realised all her efforts to avoid awkwardness were in vain. Evidently, he had been nice enough not only to not wake her up or push her off him, but to take her glasses off for her so she didn’t have an imprint on her face in the morning.</p>
<p>Amira tried valiantly to ignore the heat she could feel steadily rising to her cheeks, pressing the backs of her tawny hands to them to try and cool them down. She tore her gaze away from the sleeping monster and quietly made her way out of the living room to get ready for work.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>A couple of hours later, Amira was dressed and prepared to leave for the lab. She walked towards the living room, peering in to check whether Gaster had woken up. Thankfully, he had – he was crouched beside May’s tank watching the little fish as she rested on her log. He still looked half-asleep, though, with his eyes heavily lidded and his arms resting on the table that May’s tank sat upon.</p>
<p>“Good morning!” Amira spoke brightly but softly. Gaster slowly turned his head to face her, blinking.</p>
<p>“Good morning.” He signed a little inelegantly.</p>
<p>“Uh, so, I’m so sorry for falling asleep on you last night.” Amira tried to keep her tone nonchalant as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “That must have been super uncomfortable. Thanks for not waking me up... And not pushing me off, and taking my glasses off, and putting them to the side...” Amira stopped rambling when she realised she had just undermined her own casual facade.</p>
<p>She could have sworn she saw the faintest tinge of grey touching Gaster’s cheeks as he sleepily responded. “It is ok. I did not mind.”</p>
<p>Amira hid a smile at his sleep-hazed short sentences, before quickly clearing her throat and changing the topic, because she could feel her face beginning to redden again at the awkwardness of the whole situation.</p>
<p>“I’m gonna head off for work now. I’ll have a talk with Alphys about the Soul Tracker, and... hopefully she’ll lend it to me.” Amira nodded to herself, trying to sound more confident than she felt. That seemed to wake Gaster up a bit more. His eye-lights sharpened – Amira couldn’t quite tell if it was in anxiety or in hope – and he sat up straighter.</p>
<p>“Yes. Good luck. I hope you have a good day at work.” His signs were a little disjointed, probably because he was nervous and still tired.</p>
<p>“Thanks,” Amira flashed a smile, hoping to inspire confidence in him. “I’ll see you later. Bye, Gaster!” She waved, “Goodbye May, my darling!” She called out to the little fish as she swept past her tank and out the front door, grabbing her lab coat on the way.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Once she had put down her backpack in her lab, Amira knew she couldn’t ignore the churning ball of nervousness sitting in the pit of her stomach. She wouldn’t be able to focus on her work unless and until she spoke to Alphys first. So the scientist pulled her dark curls into a quick bun, striding over to the neighbouring lab.</p>
<p>Sure enough, as she approached Amira could see her reptilian friend through the glass door, tinkering away at some kind of device on her bench. The biologist raised a fist, knocking quietly. Immediately, Alphys looked up and smiled at the sight of the human, gesturing for her to come in.</p>
<p>“Hey, Amira!” she greeted as soon as she had entered the lab.</p>
<p>“Hi, Alphys.” Amira responded with a small smile. “What’s that you’re working on?” she asked, keeping in line with their little unofficial tradition.</p>
<p>Alphys glanced down at the device, and excitedly turned back to Amira. “I-it’s a portable humidifier! I designed it to ease the breathing and comfort of amphibious monsters. You see! Now that they’re all on the surface, i-it’s kind of hard for a lot of them to go into more built areas... and h-human areas... for long periods of time. So! This should help with that!” the mustard-coloured lizard clasped her hands together, clearly proud of her work.</p>
<p>“Wow, that’s a great idea!” Amira’s words were sincere, but her tone was slightly subdued due to her own anxiety. Alphys seemed to realise that something was off. “I-is everything alright, Amira?” She asked, studying the human woman.</p>
<p>Amira met Alphys’ copper gaze and answered truthfully. “... To be honest – no. That’s kind of why I need to speak to you.”</p>
<p>Alphys stepped away from the bench completely, moving closer to Amira and re-adjusting her glasses on her broad snout. “Are you alright?”</p>
<p>Amira was touched at the monster’s sincerity and concern. “I’m fine,” she reassured her, “... It’s actually about a good friend of mine.” Amira doubted that Alphys would be able to remember that she had told her about meeting a monster in the Underground called Gaster, so she wasn’t worried about her making the connection.</p>
<p>The other woman was silent, waiting for Amira to elaborate.</p>
<p>“This is really hard for me to explain because... I can’t really explain it.” Amira gestured in mild frustration. “Basically, my friend is in a really tough situation. And I really want to help him. And...  there’s only one way I can do that.” She took a deep breath, fully aware that her next words might influence whether Gaster ever had a chance at having a whole soul again. “I need to use your Soul Tracker.”</p>
<p>Alphys stared for a moment, as a look of complete confusion swept over her. “S-sorry, what? I... I don’t understand?” She stammered, lost for words.</p>
<p>“I know, I know,” Amira nodded, completely understanding “I just... I need the Soul Tracker to help my friend. And unfortunately I can’t really elaborate more than that. I know how bizarre it sounds,” she cringed at how confusing she probably sounded, “but please, I need you to trust me.”</p>
<p>Alphys took a breath, rubbing the bridge of her snout with a clawed hand. “Amira... if it was anything else...” she trailed off, and Amira’s hope dwindled. “The Soul Tracker, it... it’s just too invasive. N-not that I think you would use it for anything awful, but... I-I should never even have made it. A-and you can’t even tell me why you need it...” Alphys spoke quietly, but her reluctance was clear.</p>
<p>Amira knew there was nothing she could say at that moment to change her friend’s mind. “I understand.” She spoke, resigned. “It’s an insane request and this must all look extremely odd. I just had to try. I don’t know what else I can do.” The human adjusted her glasses, before reassuring Alphys. “Don’t worry about it, ok? I’ll... figure something out. I’ll see you later?”</p>
<p>Alphys still wore a mask of worry. “O-ok, Amira.” She hesitated. “I... I hope your friend is ok. And I hope you can find a solution to whatever the problem is.”</p>
<p>Amira smiled through her crushing disappointment. “Thanks, Alphys.” She waved her friend goodbye as she made her way back to her own lab.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira hadn’t been able to focus properly on her work all day. She had been racking her brains trying to figure out what she was going to tell Gaster when she got home, and what on Earth they could possibly do now that the Soul Tracker was off the table. At this point, she was just staring blankly at her monitor, killing time until she could officially go home. She only had to wait another 12 minutes.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the sound of a timid knock reached her ears. Amira turned her head towards the door, still slumped over her desk. She straightened and stood as she saw Alphys outside. “Come in,” she told the lizard monster.</p>
<p>Alphys entered the lab, and Amira noticed almost immediately that she had the Soul Tracker carefully grasped in both scaly hands, subtly shielding the device from the outside world with her body. The Soul Tracker looked exactly as Amira remembered it from when she had first seen the device. It looked deceptively unassuming – it was about the size of a tissue box, with a simple white body and a glass chamber resting on top. The device also had a small screen and a few unlabelled buttons. The only difference was that it was no longer covered with a thin layer of dust – Alphys had evidently brushed it off. Amira didn’t dare to presume anything and get her hopes up. She simply waited for the other scientist to speak.</p>
<p>Alphys’ tail swished nervously from side-to-side. “I’ve been thinking...” she began softly, “And... I know what it’s like t-to have friends who need your help... B-but not being able or... willing to open up to other people about it.” The monster’s amber eyes were fixed on the floor, and Amira thought she detected a hint of shame in her expression. “L-like I said earlier, I don’t think you would ever use this for nefarious purposes... I do trust you, and you’re my friend.” Alphys met the human’s gaze again. “I-if you really need this to help someone... You can borrow it.” Alphys quickly continued, “B-but! Only for a day. I hope that’s ok. And... I’d like it if y-you promise to tell me, one day when you can, why you need it.”</p>
<p>Amira felt light-headed. She couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing – she had been on such an emotional rollercoaster all day. “Alphys...” she began with gratitude, “I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much!” she felt a hopeful smile break across her face. “One day is more than enough. And I promise I will tell you <em>everything</em> one day. Hopefully sooner rather than later.” The woman let out a short breath of relief. “You have no idea how grateful I am!”</p>
<p>Alphys nodded her head, moving closer to Amira and gingerly holding the Soul Tracker out to her. The biologist took it with reverence, cradling the device carefully in her arms. “Thank you so much.” Amira blurted again, overcome with gratitude. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow morning, ok?”</p>
<p>“A-alright.” Alphys confirmed. She still appeared concerned but had let go of the device completely. “I hope it helps you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira tapped her foot rapidly and clutched her backpack which now housed the Soul Tracker as she travelled up to her floor in the elevator. The metallic doors slid open, and she slipped through, making a dash for her apartment door. She couldn’t wait to show Gaster the device.</p>
<p>Bursting through, Amira slammed the door behind her, wincing at the loud bang. Startled, Gaster appeared in the doorway to the living room, features forming an expression of worry. “Is everything alright?” He signed, watching her imploringly. The biologist gathered herself, trying to calm her breathing from the run she’d done from the lab. “I’m fine,” she told him, looking down at her bag as if to confirm the Soul Tracker was still there.</p>
<p>Amira raised her eyes to meet Gaster’s grey gaze. He looked wholly unconvinced that she was ‘fine’ and waited for her to elaborate. The woman unzipped her backpack. “This is the Soul Tracker.” She told him once she had freed the device, presenting it to him. “I got it.” She grinned. Gaster’s eyes immediately fixed on the little machine, brightening. Amira saw a glimpse of hope in him; a hint that he believed this machine might be able to help him. But he still seemed to have an air of caution about him - as if he was hesitant to have hope in the fear that the device would fail him.</p>
<p>Amira was absolutely determined that this machine would work. The last thing she wanted was for that new spark of hope in him to be crushed. “So... do you want to give it a go?” she asked him. She expected Gaster to hesitate and take some time to think, but he responded immediately with a simple “Yes”. Amira supposed that he had been also dangling in suspense all day, just as she had.</p>
<p>“Ok,” the woman nodded, still holding the device, “I think we just put your soul inside the little chamber, and... push one of these buttons?” Now she felt a little stupid – in all her excitement she had forgotten to ask Alphys exactly how to use the machine. She sheepishly conveyed this to Gaster as the pair studied it. There were four buttons: three small grey ones below the screen, and one larger green one beside it. Gaster wrote his guess in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>The green button will likely initiate the scanning process. With our technology, green generally signifies some sort of scanning. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded, remembering how the soul scanners at the bank had lit up green – she had thought that it must have signified a positive ID, but evidently not. “Alright then!” she spoke brightly, despite how tense she was feeling. She twisted the cylindrical glass chamber, and it hissed open at the top, the glass delicately spiralling and fragmenting to leave a space to put the soul into. <em>Magic</em>, Amira thought a little sardonically.</p>
<p>She paused, looking up at Gaster, right into his hollow eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she pushed her glasses up, “I don’t want you to do this just to appease me or anything... But I genuinely think this will work.” The monster simply smiled at her and signed “Yes,” elaborating in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Although I am somewhat skeptical – as I am fairly certain it is not possible to locate the other pieces of my soul – I am willing to try this. At this point, what do I have to lose?</strong>
  
</p>
<p>Amira studied him for a moment longer, before picking up the small, amorphous grey soul piece from the coffee table, gently placing it into the chamber. Strangely, it didn’t rest on the bottom of the chamber; rather, it floated in the centre. Amira thought it looked quite small and vulnerable in there – the chamber had clearly been built to house a whole soul, so there was a lot of empty space. When the human removed her hand from the chamber, the fragmented glass at the top elaborately unfolded to seal the soul piece – as if the glass dome had never been disturbed in the first place.</p>
<p>Amira’s right hand drifted towards the green button, stopping just before her painted nail touched it. She turned the Soul Tracker to face Gaster instead. “You should press it.” She suggested. He didn’t say anything but met Amira’s dark eyes and gave her a small nod. He reached out with one large, pale hand and pushed the button with a single outstretched finger.</p>
<p>There was a bright flash of green light, and then nothing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well... things are happening! </p>
<p>Let me know what you thought of this chapter! (Also I hope you all enjoyed the little fluffy scene at the beginning. I definitely enjoyed writing it!)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Success</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone! I know the ending of last chapter was a little evil haha<br/>Hope the wait wasn't too long :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>There was a bright flash of green light, and then nothing. </em>
</p>
<p>For a heart-stopping moment, Amira thought the machine hadn’t worked. But suddenly, a grid popped up on the screen. Six green dots were scattered throughout, one of which had a black ‘X’ on it. Amira’s heart skipped a beat. <em>The soul pieces! </em>She let out a squeak of excitement when she realised what that meant. Gaster looked completely dumbfounded; staring at the screen as if he wasn’t quite sure if what he was seeing was real.</p>
<p>“We did it!” Amira emphasised to him when her voice returned to her, “We actually did it!” Gaster looked down at her, as his expression transformed to one of pure joy and relief. Amira was shocked when he spontaneously pulled her into a hug, the Soul Tracker sandwiched between them as she still held it in her arms. She laughed giddily at his infectious enthusiasm.</p>
<p>Gaster released Amira quickly, flustered at his impulsive action. He began to sign an apology but the human stopped him, grasping both of his hands in her smaller ones. “You have nothing to be sorry for. This is amazing!” she told him, still beaming. He mirrored her smile, quickly grabbing the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Thank you so much for all of your help, Amira. If you had not found me, I would still be alone in Hotland. Thanks to you I have been able to see the Surface for myself. I have learned more about human culture and the wider world. And now, because of you, I have a chance to be whole again.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>Amira couldn’t meet his silvery gaze directly; she rubbed the back of her neck, touched by his sincerity. “Don’t mention it,” she tried to brush it off. “I couldn’t <em>not</em> try.” The monster shook his head and wrote something else.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Thank you for having such determination with me. I do not have much of it for myself. </strong>
</p>
<p>The biologist met his eyes this time, and the pair shared a brief moment of mutual unspoken gratitude. Amira’s arms were beginning to burn from the weight of the Soul Tracker, so she placed it down on the coffee table and sat on the couch so she could study the grid more closely. Gaster sat beside her to do the same. It was quite vague – there was no map or scale. Just six dots – <em>that must mean there are six fragments in total</em>. Amira suspected the one with the X on it was the one they already had in the chamber.</p>
<p><em>So we’ve got five to find. That seems achievable</em>. <em>Still...</em> “This is kind of tricky to interpret,” Amira gave Gaster a sidelong glance, “but at least we know where they are. Relative to us, anyway.” Gaster was in thought, his brow furrowed. He wrote down a suggestion.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Perhaps the other two grey buttons can alter the formatting. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded – that made sense to her. <em>What else would the grey buttons be for, anyway?</em> Gaster gingerly pressed the grey button in the centre, causing the screen to flash dark for a second before a series of numbers appeared on the screen. For a second, Amira was even more confused by this, but she quickly realised that there were six different sets of numbers – probably corresponding to a soul piece each – that looked a like coordinates. Except... there were too many numbers in each set to be coordinates.</p>
<p>Gaster seemed to understand what they meant, though, perking up in recognition. He saw Amira’s confusion and took to the notebook to explain.</p>
<p>
  <strong>They are coordinates. The first three numbers refer to depth or height, the second three to latitude, and the final three to longitude. </strong>
</p>
<p>“Oh, that’s perfect!” Amira clapped her hands together. Only one of the sets of coordinates began with a negative number – she suspected therefore that that soul piece was underground. The woman grabbed her laptop to pull up Google Maps and start putting in the coordinates (the latitudes and longitudes, anyway) so that they could see exactly where in the world the other pieces were.</p>
<p>As Amira pinned each location, it began to dawn on her just how far apart the pieces really were. “Well,” she began optimistically, “the good news is that one of them is super close to where we are!”, turning the laptop to show him. “It’s the one with the negative depth coordinate. Must be in the Underground.” She mused.</p>
<p>Gaster studied the map as well, and agreed, signing “Yes, that seems correct.” As he continued to look at the map, however, it became apparent to Amira that he was realising the same thing she had.</p>
<p>Namely, that other than the piece that was probably in the Underground and the piece they already had, the other four fragments were each in different countries entirely. Different <em>continents</em>, in fact. Zooming in on each location, the human noted down the countries they were in. Japan, Libya, Canada... even one back home in Australia. This was on a scale so much vaster than Amira could ever have imagined. The shattering must have had an absolutely monumental impact to throw the pieces of Gaster’s soul so far from the Underground, and so far from each other.</p>
<p>Gaster caught Amira’s attention with a light touch to her arm.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I am still not wholly aware of the full scale of the surface world, but most of the pieces look to be great distances from here.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded slowly in confirmation. “Yeah, they are.” She told him honestly. “It might be difficult to get to them, but at least we know where they are now. It’s a step closer.”</p>
<p>“You are right.” Gaster signed in agreement. He still looked distinctly hopeful, his eye-lights bright and piercing. Amira was glad that he wasn’t overly discouraged by the distances they would have to travel to restore all the pieces.</p>
<p>“In fact, we could go to the Underground soon to find the piece that’s down there.” The human suggested. “I could go down under the guise of work and smuggle you down with me.” She smiled light-heartedly.</p>
<p>“Yes, that is an excellent idea.” Gaster signed excitedly.</p>
<p>Amira felt like she was on cloud nine. Seemingly against all odds, they had actually gotten a step closer to resolving this apparently cosmic mistake. She was already mentally shuffling her plans for lab work around so that they could go to the Underground as soon as possible. As she glanced back to Gaster, she noticed that his enthusiasm had mellowed slightly. He looked like he wanted to say something but was unsure about it. Amira didn’t press him – she just waited patiently as he eventually began to write something in the notebook, stopping and starting several times as if he was still undecided on whatever he was writing.</p>
<p>
  <strong>You mentioned earlier that Sans assisted you in understanding what happened to me.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>I would not mind if you want to inform him of what we have discovered.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded, inwardly thrilled. “Ok, I’ll definitely let him know.” She knew it would mean a lot to Sans to be kept in the loop about his former friend – plus, three minds were better than two. She realised that Sans’ input would probably be invaluable in this situation, given his apparent expertise in... <em>space-time multiverse weirdness, I guess</em>. But she also knew that that was a step further than what Gaster had agreed to.</p>
<p>Hesitant, Amira continued. “... would you be open to bringing Sans into this to help? It’s just that he seems to know a lot about this situation. Way more than I do, anyway.”</p>
<p>The monster paused, eye-lights darting around in thought. He lifted his hands as if to sign a response, but fumbled a bit as if wavering between answers. Eventually, he settled on “Yes. But not immediately – I would like a bit more time.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Amira smiled in understanding, “Just make sure you let me know when.” On the inside, the woman was practically jumping for joy. She was glad that Gaster would finally have somebody other than herself in his life. She knew after having been completely alone for almost a decade, the monster was probably content with whatever social interaction he could get. But that wasn’t exactly a healthy baseline. Everyone needed friends.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>After the pair had had some time to calm down after everything that had transpired, Amira saved the map with the pinned locations of the soul pieces and wrote down all 6 sets of coordinates. She wanted to be absolutely certain they had all the information they would need, because she would have to return the Soul Tracker to Alphys the next morning.</p>
<p>Amira had suggested to Gaster that they should sit down and plan their next steps properly once she got back from work the next day. She suspected they were both still too elated to think clearly enough to start working out how they were realistically going to go about this.</p>
<p>So, they had both decided to have a chill night. Gaster had picked Spirited Away out of Amira’s little DVD collection, telling her that he was curious about animated films. Amira was happy to re-watch the classic – it had been the first Studio Ghibli film she had ever seen as a kid. When she settled into her usual place on the couch beside Gaster, folding her legs underneath her, she resolutely reminded herself <em>not</em> to fall asleep this time.</p>
<p>As they watched the movie, Amira was a little amused to realise that No Face looked a bit like Gaster – from the amorphous black form to the stark white face. Gaster himself noticed this as well and had turned to Amira part-way through to tell her that he thought the spirit resembled him somewhat. But when they reached the scene where No Face terrorised everyone in the bathhouse, Gaster had quickly told her that he didn’t think they were similar anymore.</p>
<p>Once the movie was over and Amira had bid Gaster goodnight, she retreated to her room and pulled out her phone. Eagerly, she began typing out a message to Sans.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hey Sans – I’ve got great news! Gaster and I have found the locations of his other soul pieces! There are 6 in total – so 5 more that we have to find. He told me that I could tell you. </strong>
</p>
<p>She mulled over the message for a few seconds, unsure whether she should yet mention that Gaster had told her he was willing to meet Sans again at some point in the near future. Ultimately, she decided against it. It might have been giving the skeleton monster false hope. So, she pressed ‘send’ and dropped the phone onto her mattress as she got ready for bed.</p>
<p>By the time she returned a few minutes later, Sans had already replied.</p>
<p>
  <strong>are u for real? this isn’t some weird joke? how did u find them? </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira typed out another quick response.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alphys lent me her Soul Tracker (long story, I’ll explain later) – she doesn’t know about Gaster, though. We used it on the soul fragment we have, and it gave us coordinates for the others. Like you thought they’re all very spread out. But I think we can get them.</strong>
</p>
<p>Sans didn’t respond right away, so Amira switched her light off and buried herself under the covers. She scrolled through her social media for a bit until the notification for Sans’ response popped up.</p>
<p>
  <strong>ur right. that is great news. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>do u guys want an extra pair of hands?</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was relieved at Sans’ offer to help. She knew that the skeleton monster would be a valuable source of knowledge in this search – not to mention that it seemed like he was eager to reunite with his old friend. So she sent the most straightforward and honest answer she could.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Yes, actually that would be really helpful. Gaster said he’s not quite ready to see you in person again just yet, but anything you can come up with in the meantime would be great.</strong>
</p>
<p>Sans’ response was immediate.</p>
<p>
  <strong>k. putting his soul back together might affect the multiverse. same as splitting it did. i’ll have a think about it, run some sims and let u know.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira locked her phone, placing it face down on her bedside table. She hadn’t even considered that repairing Gaster’s soul could have cosmic consequences. Though, it made sense – if splitting it had ‘shifted the fabric of the multiverse’ (or whatever Sans had told her ages ago), surely repairing it would... shift it back? Then again, Amira had no idea – all this weird theoretical physics stuff really wasn’t her area of expertise. <em>Well, that’s why we need Sans’ help.</em> She told herself as she rolled over, closing her eyes.</p>
<p>Her mind was still spinning with thoughts of souls and multiverses and physics as she drifted into a restless sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So! It worked! But things might be more complicated than they originally thought...</p>
<p>Let me know what you guys think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. A Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone! </p>
<p>I hope you enjoy this one. Lots of important stuff to cover :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Amira walked into work, she noticed Alphys standing outside the door to her lab, waiting for her. The timid monster looked anxious, and as if she had been waiting there for a while.</p>
<p>“Hey, Alphys!” Amira greeted her cheerfully, swinging her backpack onto one shoulder so she could unzip it and return the Soul Tracker. “Here’s the Soul Tracker, as promised.” She gently passed the device to Alphys, who took it gratefully.</p>
<p>“Alphys, it worked!” Amira began gushing, unable to contain her excitement, “I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am. This little machine has literally changed a life!”</p>
<p>“W-well, I’m happy to hear that,” Alphys said, a little confused but relieved, nonetheless. She paused for a moment, before asking “Can you tell me why you needed to use it, y-yet?”</p>
<p>Amira winced mentally. “I’m sorry, I still can’t explain it just yet,” she explained apologetically, “But I’m definitely a step closer to being able to.”</p>
<p>The lizard monster nodded in acknowledgement. “W-well, I’m glad the Soul Tracker was able to be used for something... good. I’m glad it’s a-actually helped someone.” She met Amira’s gaze as if to ask for confirmation. </p>
<p>“Yes,” Amira smiled, “It definitely did.”</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello May, my little pumpkin!” Amira snickered a little at her own ridiculous use of the pet name. “Hi, Gaster!” she greeted the monster as she swung the front door shut behind her.</p>
<p>Said monster was currently sitting on the floor, back resting against the bottom of the couch. The computer was propped up on his lap, and he appeared to have been in the middle of reading something - <em>No surprises there,</em> Amira thought fondly.</p>
<p>“Hello, Amira.” Gaster greeted her. “How was your day?”</p>
<p>“Pretty average, to be honest.” Amira told him. “How about you? What have you been doing?”</p>
<p>The monster turned the laptop towards her. “I have begun researching the locations of the soul pieces in greater detail.” Amira could see that he had several tabs open, as well as the map she had saved the day before. Gaster reached for the notebook and pen where he had left them on the coffee table to elaborate.</p>
<p>
  <strong>They are far farther away than I realised. From what I understand it will take a considerable amount of time and money to be able to retrieve them all.</strong>
</p>
<p>He wore a concerned expression as Amira read his words. “Yeah, I know.” The woman acknowledged, “that’s why we really need to think through how we’re going to be able to realistically do this.” She paused, taking her bag off her shoulders. “Let me just put my stuff away and get changed, and we’ll start figuring this out.”</p>
<p>Amira dashed into her room, shedding her lab coat and dumping her backpack along the way. She returned quickly, dropping down beside Gaster on the floor and crossing her legs. He gently set the laptop onto the coffee table so they could both see it, his arm lightly brushing against hers.</p>
<p>Amira flushed a little at their proximity. It had been difficult to admit to herself, but she had come to terms with the fact that she had recently developed a bit of a crush on her companion. She couldn’t help it – <em>he’s just so sweet, and considerate, and smart, and... cute. God, I’m such a sap. </em>If she had told her past self from 4 months ago that she would have developed a crush on a monster, she would never have believed it.</p>
<p><em>Is that even a thing? Do monster and human couples even exist?</em> She stopped her errant train of thought. She knew realistically this was probably just a silly superficial crush that developed because of fact that he was the only person she spent a lot of time with regularly. She figured it would probably fade away soon. Anyway, Amira knew there was no way Gaster was interested in her like that. She just had to push her feelings to the side and trust that they would pass.</p>
<p>Amira was drawn from her thoughts as Gaster began to explain through the notebook what he had discovered.</p>
<p>
  <strong>I estimate from the coordinates that the piece of my soul in the Underground is quite far west. It is likely near the border, beyond Snowdin and the Ruins.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>That caught Amira’s attention. She had never had a reason to explore the Ruins for her research. Although she had told herself she would go down there just to have a look around one day, she hadn’t yet found the time. So, the prospect of finally having a reason to explore the ancient monster-made structure was intriguing.</p>
<p>“We can go down and look for it soon, if you want.” Amira offered, “I’ve kind of changed my lab work plans to be more flexible, so I’m good to go tomorrow, even.”</p>
<p>Gaster nodded, eyes bright. Amira continued to muse, “It’ll probably take the whole day to get all the way down there, actually find the soul piece, and then make it back home.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Gaster signed sincerely, “Thank you for being so willing to help.”</p>
<p>Amira smiled, avoiding his gaze, and stared at her hands instead. She forced herself to think about something else. “Um, so,” she began, fumbling, “what time do you reckon you’ll be ready to leave?” Even though she had blurted the question out of awkwardness, it was a valid one, given what how notoriously <em>not</em> a morning person Gaster was.</p>
<p>The monster paused for a moment, before suggesting, “We should leave early; perhaps at 8 o’clock?” he moved to elaborate through the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>We do not know how long we will be searching for the exact location of the piece, and it would not be ideal for you to have to drive the entire way home in the dark.</strong>
</p>
<p>Amira nodded, her dark eyes raising to meet his gaze. “Yeah, that’s a good point. Ok, 8 it is!” She was pretty surprised that he was willing to get up so early; normally he wasn’t even awake at 8am. Although, she realised he was right about not knowing how long they would have to be looking. Yes, they had the coordinates – but that would only take them to a general area, not the exact location of the piece. It could be hidden, or somewhere difficult or perilous to access. They would have to leave themselves time to account for that possibility. <em>Plus, </em>Amira thought, <em>he must be really keen to finally have another piece of his soul restored.</em></p>
<p>It was then that Amira recalled her text conversation with Sans the previous night. “Oh!” she exclaimed. Gaster looked up with mild alarm. “I forgot to tell you. When I messaged Sans last night to tell him that we know the locations of the other pieces, he brought up something important.” Gaster nodded, gesturing for her to continue. “Basically he said that restoring the pieces of your soul could have implications for the... multiverse?” she hesitated at how strange the words sounded coming out of her mouth, especially considering she still didn’t quite know what they actually meant, “As in, when it was shattered it caused a massive disturbance and shifted the... fabric of the universe? And so he thinks putting your soul back together might do the same.”</p>
<p>Gaster was silent for a long moment, but Amira could practically hear the machinery of his mind whirring away. Finally, he responded. “His reasoning is sound.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>I had not considered that; my mind was focused simply on retrieving my entire soul. We will need to consider the broader implications of this.</strong>
</p>
<p>He paused, brow slightly furrowed.</p>
<p>
  <strong>If we do find a second piece tomorrow, we should wait before actually restoring it. At least until we can determine that it will not cause irrevocable damage to this or any other universe.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>The monster hesitated again, clicking the pen absently, before continuing.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Sans’ input would be valuable on this topic. We should meet with him as soon as possible to discuss this.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Amira agreed, “I’ll message him now and ask when he’s free. And I can invite him over sometime after tomorrow so we can figure all of this out.” she glanced to him for confirmation.</p>
<p>“Yes, please.” Gaster assented gratefully, “That would be ideal.”</p>
<p>Amira pulled her phone out of her pocket, quickly relaying the message to Sans. Her emotions were mixed (and she suspected Gaster’s probably were too). On one hand, it was great that the two friends were finally reuniting after so long. On the other hand – Amira was increasingly realising that this was worlds more complicated than she could ever have anticipated. It seemed as if each time they made a step forwards, they were set two steps back. Only now that they had actually found where the rest of Gaster’s soul was, were they forced to consider the very real chance that putting it back together might not be possible.</p>
<p>Thankfully, Gaster stirred beside her and leaned forwards to change the tab on the laptop, pulling Amira’s attention back to the moment. He had pulled up a tourist website for a place called Jericho Beach, scrolling to show her a map and some pictures.</p>
<p>“I have done some research on the locations of the other pieces.” He explained. “This is the one in C-A-N-A-D-A.” he spelled the country’s name, obviously not knowing the sign for it yet. He returned to the notebook to continue.</p>
<p>
  <strong>It is in an area called Jericho Beach, which is apparently near a large city called Vancouver. It seems to be in the water.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>He pointed with one large finger to the map, where he had marked the coordinates from the Soul Tracker. Now that she was looking closer, Amira could see that it was indeed in the water. It didn’t seem to be too far out from the beach, but the thought of having to swim in freezing Canadian water made her shiver.</p>
<p>“Ok,” she nodded, “That’s not too bad. At least it’s not in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean or anything.” she joked.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Gaster smiled, “this seems to be the closest piece, aside from the one in the Underground.”</p>
<p>Suddenly his eyes brightened slightly, as he seemed to have remembered something. He quickly changed to another tab on the laptop. Before Amira had the chance to look at it properly, he had begun signing something excitedly. “There is a piece in A-U-S-T-R-A-L-I-A.” he began, “It is your home country, correct?”</p>
<p>Gaster had asked her about her accent a couple of months ago, curious as to why she spoke differently from the humans in the movies and on TV. She had made a joking offhand comment about her self-proclaimed “obnoxious Australian accent” being a product of her upbringing, and left it at that. She was pleasantly caught off guard that he remembered that little exchange enough to know where she was from.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m Australian.” She confirmed with a smile. “Surprised you remembered that.”</p>
<p>“Of course, I remembered,” Gaster responded, “I remember everything.” He joked, mirroring her smile with bright eye-lights.</p>
<p>Amira huffed out a little laugh, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her crossed arms on them as she turned her attention back to the laptop.</p>
<p>Gaster had pulled up an Australian tourism website, on a page titled ‘Guide to the Daintree Rainforest’. “The Daintree, huh?” Amira commented.</p>
<p>“Yes – is that where you are from?” Gaster questioned, watching her intently.</p>
<p>“No,” Amira laughed a little, shaking her head. “I’m from all the way down here.” She pointed to where Sydney would be on the site’s little graphic of Australia. “It would take me like, two whole days to drive all the way up there.”</p>
<p>Gaster’s eyes widened, flicking back to the map. Amira smiled in understanding, “Australia’s a big country. And the Surface world is... enormous.” She shrugged lightly.</p>
<p>“I am beginning to understand that.” Gaster signed, still in a state of disbelief.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I imagine it’s gotta be pretty overwhelming.” Amira adjusted her glasses, watching him.</p>
<p>“It is,” Gaster agreed, turning to face her fully, “Until today I did not know that ‘rainforests’ were real. I have never seen so many different plant species in one location.”</p>
<p>Amira paused for a moment to think about that. The Underground only had three different biomes – there were so many different kinds of ecological systems and habitats that Gaster had probably never known even existed. As someone who had been fascinated by the rich variety and diversity of life on the planet for her entire life, it genuinely upset Amira that monsters had been so forcibly limited in the kinds of environments they could appreciate.</p>
<p>“They’re real alright,” Amira told him, “and they’re incredible. I’ve been to the Daintree once as a kid, and I’ve still never seen anything like it since.” She found herself getting excited at the prospect of returning. Her favourite birds, Cassowaries, were native to the Daintree, and she had never actually seen one in the wild. It was also just a fascinatingly unique ecosystem from a biological and ecological perspective, and she would love to have the chance to view it through adult eyes. Plus, she was certain Gaster would be absolutely captivated by it as well. The woman had to stop herself from getting too caught up in her ideas, as she reminded herself that they still had to make sure putting Gaster’s soul together again wouldn’t... destroy the universe, or something.</p>
<p>She glanced sidelong at the monster. His attention was back on the screen, wistfully studying the images of lush, verdant greenery; so dense that sunlight barely touched the earthy forest floor. He noticed her gaze and reached out with one arm to change the tab again.</p>
<p>The bright foliage and ancient, towering trees were replaced with a completely different kind of monument. Pictures of an ornate, towering structure with two enormous paper lanterns adorning either side of its wide, arching entrance flashed across the screen. The shrine was guarded by two immaculate, stalwart stone lion statutes; somewhat incongruous compared to the modern apartment complexes Amira could see in the background. The webpage was titled ‘Namba Shrine, Chuo’. Gaster wrote a brief explanation.</p>
<p>
  <strong>The piece in Japan is located here. It is in a city called Osaka, which can apparently be flown to. The piece itself is somewhere in the Shrine grounds, but it is difficult to determine precisely where. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira had never been to Japan before, so she didn’t have a lot to add. She relayed this to Gaster as they both studied the site. The building itself was beautiful, and Amira wondered faintly if it would even be appropriate for them to go searching for a soul piece inside. Although, he had said it was somewhere in the shrine grounds, not necessarily inside the shrine itself.</p>
<p>Seeing images of the relatively near shores of Canada, and a familiar place in her home country that she had visited before had not fazed Amira much. But now, seeing that there was a piece of Gaster’s soul all the way in Japan – where neither of them had ever been, knew the language, nor the culture, nor... anything really – it was incredibly intimidating. Not for the first time, Amira felt out of her depth. Again, she had to chide herself for getting ahead of herself.</p>
<p>“There’s one more, right?” she asked, keeping her voice steady despite her mounting anxiety.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Gaster confirmed, moving to switch to the final tab. “It is in a country called L-I-B-Y-A.”</p>
<p>Amira studied the page as Gaster wrote something down in the notebook. It was a satellite map, zoomed into what looked like a vast, endless desert. Intertwining patterns of shades of red, brown and yellow occupied the screen, with no water or vegetation to be seen. To Amira’s untrained eye, it looked like there were no roads or buildings or signs of humanity as far as she could see. She turned her head to read what Gaster had written.</p>
<p>
  <strong>This location was the most difficult to research. It appears to be in an area of the country not populated by many humans. It is not near any large towns or cities that I could find, and the nearest airport is over 300 kilometres away.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>He quickly typed ‘Sabha Airport’ into the search bar, showing her the distance between it and the pinned location of the soul piece. Amira was speechless. The piece was, quite literally, smack bang in the middle of the Libyan Desert.</p>
<p>She had never been to Libya either – let alone <em>anywhere</em> so completely isolated and far from any major cities. She was completely overwhelmed by the thought of flying half-way around the world to somewhere totally unfamiliar, and having to trek out into the harsh, inhospitable desert for god-knows how long. She could only imagine how Gaster was feeling – at least she had grown up in this world. It was all completely new to him.</p>
<p>Amira hugged her knees closer to her chest as she drew her brows together. <em>I’m in way over my head. There’s no way I can do this. I’m not some... global-adventurer-Indiana-Jones-type! I’m... just a scientist. </em>She felt her heart rate begin to pick up. <em>I’m not gonna be able to survive in the desert! I can’t even walk up the fire stairs to my apartment without getting tired! I mean we’re probably going to have to hike, and camp, and I’m just not cut out for that stuff!</em> She thought back to her awful experiences at high school camps, which just made her panic even more. <em>Oh god, I can’t do this! There’s no way I can do this!</em></p>
<p>Suddenly, she felt a cool, steady weight on her forearm. Her eyes darted to see what it was – <em>Gaster.</em> Amira saw his familiar pale hand gently encircling her arm, grounding her in reality. She raised her head, and her dark eyes met Gaster’s concerned grey gaze. He kept his hand on her arm for a moment longer as she took a deep breath, calming herself down. The monster reluctantly drew his hand away to sign reassuringly, “It will be alright.” Amira lowered her knees to the ground, crossing her legs.</p>
<p>“We are in this together,” he continued, watching her expression carefully to make sure she had stopped spiralling. “we will resolve all of this together.” Amira nodded, keeping her eyes on him. “And,” he continued, “you do not have to go anywhere or do anything you do not wish to.”</p>
<p>Amira let out a slow, soft breath. “Yeah,” she spoke quietly, “we’re in this together. You’re right. Thanks.” She felt a lot calmer under the weight of his gaze. She cracked a small smile, hoping to convey her gratitude.</p>
<p>Gaster studied her for a moment longer. “Anyway,” he signed after a long pause, turning to the notebook:</p>
<p>
  <strong>We are thinking far ahead of ourselves. Let us focus simply on finding the second piece in the Underground tomorrow.</strong>
  
</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Amira smiled fully this time, “good plan.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well... now we know exactly where everything is! And Amira and Gaster are going to search for the second piece! </p>
<p>I just got my wisdom teeth out yesterday, and I'm feeling pretty unwell at the moment. So, it might take me a bit to get the next chapter out, but I hope you enjoyed this one! </p>
<p>Let me know what you thought!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The Ruins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, I'm back!</p>
<p>This one took me a bit more time than usual because I couldn't work on it for a few days while I was recovering from my wisdom tooth surgery. But thankfully I'm feeling much better now! </p>
<p>I hope you guys enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amira hid a smile as she glanced into the rear-view mirror. Gaster was clearly trying not to fall asleep, gazing out of the window at the passing scenery with half-lidded eyes. Dry shrubs and leafless trees whizzed past them, emerging from the cracked, sandy soil. The landscape was flat and relatively featureless – save for Mount Ebott, which split the horizon far ahead. The long, winding road to the mountain was all too familiar to Amira by now, but it was clearly still a novelty to the monster currently sitting in the back seat.</p>
<p>The pair had decided before they left that morning that it would be best for Gaster to sit in the back so that he could duck down and hide more easily when they reached the military checkpoint. They had learned from smuggling him out of the mountain months ago that he was far too tall to be able to hide properly in the front seat.</p>
<p>Amira’s eyes drifted across the landscape before her as she drove as if on autopilot. Her freshly painted purple nails tapped restlessly against the wheel. Unlike Gaster, she was currently feeling incredibly energised, for several reasons. She was keen to finally be able to explore the Underground’s Ruins, and of course, excited to find a second piece of Gaster’s soul. But she was also excited (if not also a little nervous) about Sans coming over to her apartment to meet them tomorrow.</p>
<p>The skeleton monster had replied to her message from the previous night, eagerly telling her that he could come over after he finished work that day. Amira wondered what Sans did for work – she’d never asked, although she suspected he was probably also a scientist of some kind. He had been Gaster’s former assistant, after all, not to mention all he seemed to know about... timelines, and multiverses, and spacetime.</p>
<p>She was still unpacking her thoughts and feeling about the meeting that would happen the next day. But for the time being, Amira was trying to just focus on the present issue at hand – getting that second soul piece.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amira and Gaster stood side-by-side, dwarfed by the enormous deep wine-coloured door to the Ruins. It had taken them just short of a couple of hours to make their way all the way down here. By now, the Underground was fairly familiar to Amira – she no longer quite had the same sense of wild curiosity about the unknown when travelling through Hotland, Waterfall and Snowdin. But now, Amira could feel that burning inquisitiveness returning at the prospect of exploring the Ruins.</p>
<p>So, she and Gaster stood at the boundary of what was known to them both. As they had walked, the monster had explained to Amira that for as long as he had been alive, the Ruins had been sealed off from the rest of the Underground. He had no idea what exactly lay beyond the threshold. Amira had been a little surprised by that revelation – she had assumed that because the Ruins were a part of the Underground, Gaster (or at least <em>some</em> monsters) would have been there before.</p>
<p>But, he hadn’t. “That is... one big door.” Amira observed. Indeed, the large stone structure towered above them both, at least twice Amira’s height.</p>
<p>“It is.” Gaster responded simply, looking up at the door. “Shall we?” he smiled at her brightly, bracing both hands on the door. Thankfully the long drive to the mountain and the long walk to the Ruins had given him plenty of time to wake up and get some energy.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Amira nodded, moving closer to his side and planting her own hands on the door. They pushed together – <em>God, this thing is bloody heavy</em>, Amira’s mind supplied unhelpfully – as the carved stone slab swung open excruciatingly slowly. Amira’s arms were starting to tremble from the exertion, but the pair managed to crack the door open just far enough for them both to slip through.</p>
<p>The human shook her arms out lightly as she appraised the sight before her. An ominously long and barren hallway stretched out before them. The walls and floor were made from a sort of rough-hewn purplish stone – the same kind as the door. The ceiling was packed with bioluminescent moss that glowed with soft white light, gently illuminating the entire area.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Amira glanced up at Gaster, “Guess there’s only one way to go.”</p>
<p>The monster nodded in response, and they apprehensively set off down the corridor. The path was narrow, but Amira and Gaster remained by each other, side-by-side. Amira couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something extremely unsettling about the atmosphere of the Ruins.</p>
<p>The corridor snaked along, and soon ended in a large staircase. Amira groaned internally at the sight of it – the steps were large, and climbed past Amira’s line of sight. Looking at the size of the steps, and remembering the size of the entrance to the Ruins, Amira couldn’t help but wonder exactly what kind of monster this had been built by.</p>
<p>As the pair ascended the staircase (which thankfully, wasn’t too long), Amira was dumbfounded when she found herself inside what looked like the foyer of someone’s home. Gaster seemed taken aback as well, eyes wide, darting around the room. The human stepped onto the polished wooden floors, curiously gazing at the short empty book case, the side-table with a vase of yellow flowers on top of it, and the empty picture frames adorning the walls. Clearly whoever had lived here wasn’t here any longer – but like the houses in Snowdin, all the lights were still on and the place looked, at first glance, as if there could still be people there.</p>
<p>“This was not on the map.” Gaster observed, turning to speak to Amira.</p>
<p>“No,” the woman shook her head, meeting his grey gaze, “it wasn’t. Where the hell are we?” she questioned, completely confused.</p>
<p>“I am not sure.” Gaster paused for a moment, turning to face the other side of the room. “The doorway ahead appears to lead back to the Ruins.” He pointed to the open door frame. Surely enough, Amira looked to where he was pointing, and could see the unusual purple stone of the Ruins peeking through. Admittedly, she was a little curious about this random house in the middle of the Ruins, and part of her wanted to look around a little. But she also didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy – this had been someone’s home.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” she walked to the door, “let’s head out there.” As they emerged into a more open area, Amira’s eyes were immediately drawn to the centrepiece of the room. A tall, dark, gnarled tree stood proudly, entirely barren and leafless. Strangely, it was surrounded by a bed of what Amira thought were blood-red leaves. Her brain having switched to one-track science mode, the biologist made a beeline for the odd tree.</p>
<p>Studying the trunk, branches and roots, it was apparent to Amira that this tree was either no longer alive, or in a perpetual state of dormancy it was fated to never leave. It had no leaves or any other apparent means of photosynthesising. Her attention shifted to the bright red carpet of foliage that surrounded the tree. She kneeled down and bent over the leaves, gently shifting a few with her hand. She inhaled sharply as she realised that they were not dead leaves that the ancient tree had shed at all. Each delicate piece was anchored to the ground by a long, slim, red stem that was hidden by the bulk of the leaf itself. <em>These are alive! </em></p>
<p>Amira cursed internally as she realised she hadn’t brought any of her sampling gear. Still, she couldn’t resist studying the little organisms for a bit longer, tracing the paths of the snaking stems until she came to an astounding realisation. “It’s part of the tree...” she murmured, crawling to the base of the towering trunk, taking care not to rip up or damage the delicate organisms beneath her. Amira’s theory was confirmed as she gently traced the web of red stems to where they merged with the rough black ‘roots’ of the tree.</p>
<p>The woman sat back on her heels, resting her chin on her hand as she thought. <em>Where is this thing getting its energy from?</em> It couldn’t possibly be light – as she had already observed, there was no chlorophyll to be seen. Plus, it would be incredibly inefficient to have the leaves sitting on the ground, rather than on the branches, if they were there to capture light. They clearly weren’t like the Echo Flowers either, which got energy and nutrients strictly from water. Amira could see no water, and the purple stone that made up the floor was not porous. There was no soil either – the little red stems and the trunk’s enormous black ‘roots’ were simply anchored to the flat stone.</p>
<p>To say she was puzzled would be a gross understatement. Amira adjusted her glasses and stood slowly, carefully stepping out of the bed of crimson leaves to appraise the entire tree. It was then that she became aware that she’d been completely zoned out for a while now and it had completely slipped her mind that she and Gaster were here to find a soul piece.</p>
<p>She blinked, looking around for the monster. He was waiting patiently a few steps back, watching her with a small smile. Amira was a little caught off guard to see the genuine fondness in his expression. “Uh, sorry,” she fumbled, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly as she ducked her head slightly in embarrassment. “Just got a little caught up there.”</p>
<p>“It is alright,” Gaster reassured her, moving a little closer, “I understand how easy it is to become swept up in scientific curiosity.” He hesitated. “Anyway, I enjoy watching you work. Your drive and enthusiasm are... admirable.” His gaze drifted from hers, anxious that he had said too much.</p>
<p>Amira crossed her arms around her middle, smiling self-consciously. “Ah – thanks!” she blurted. She scrambled for something else to say. “Oh!” she exclaimed as her thoughts about the tree returned to her mind, “I was trying to figure out how this tree gets its energy. It’s obviously not from light, and there’s no water or soil...” she trailed off.</p>
<p>Gaster paused thoughtfully, his mind shifting back to the scientific question at hand. “Humans cannot use magic, which is why you cannot feel it.” He quickly wrote an elaboration in the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>My own ability to use and sense magic is extremely limited due to the state of my soul. But even I can sense that this place is completely saturated with magic. It is difficult to explain, but powerful monsters who are adept with magic leave a strong residual magical signature. From the abundance of magic in these Ruins, I believe some extremely powerful monsters must have lived here.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Oh, right,” Amira spoke in realisation, “So you think the tree is literally just living off of that residual magic?”</p>
<p>“I believe so.” He signed affirmatively, “But it is difficult to confirm that with my limited grasp of magic at the moment.”</p>
<p>“Huh.” Amira said, “I guess that makes sense. Anyway, we should keep moving.” As the pair continued through the Ruins together, Amira continued to muse. Her question about the tree had been answered, but Gaster’s response had brought up in her mind a slew of other curiosities about his magic. She hadn’t really considered that Gaster’s grasp of magic might be impacted by the soul shattering. In fact, she admittedly hadn’t really considered his magic at all. She knew that monsters had the ability to use magic – that was one of the life-changing revelations that had come with the ascension of monsters to the surface: magic was real. There were beings that could manipulate energy and the elements, and do things that <em>should</em> have been impossible.</p>
<p>But even after monsters had come to the surface, magic hadn’t ever played a significant role in Amira’s life. She hadn’t known many monsters – and even the ones she considered her friends now had never used magic in front of her. At least... not that she knew of.</p>
<p>So Gaster’s offhanded mention of his restricted ability to sense and use magic brought up lots of questions. But, she didn’t really know how to navigate this stuff <em>– is it rude to ask about someone’s magic?</em> <em>Is it like... super personal or something? Maybe that’s why I’ve never seen any of my friends use it...</em> Although Gaster had raised the topic himself. Surely that indicated some semblance of willingness to discuss it?</p>
<p>Amira decided to just be honest about her lack of knowledge on the subject and broke the silence as they continued walking through the winding corridors and rooms. “I don’t know a lot about magic at all, so if I ask anything rude or super personal or whatever, just tell me.” She prefaced. Gaster gave her a brief nod of assent, awaiting her questions. “So, your magic is connected to your soul somehow, then? Is that the same for all monsters?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” he explained, “Monsters channel magical energy through our souls to use it. Our souls shape the kind of magic a monster is able to use.”</p>
<p>“Ok,” Amira absorbed the information, before asking, “this might be a stupid question, but what exactly do you mean by ‘using’ magic? Like, what do you use it for? I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a monster using magic before.”</p>
<p>“It is a perfectly reasonable question.” Gaster reassured her, before answering through the notebook.</p>
<p>
  <strong>In its most dramatic form, magic can be used in combat. However, it is mostly used to maintain our physical forms and for everyday convenience.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>For example, when I was able to use my magic fully, I could conjure several additional hands. It was far more convenient, as I was able to sign while also doing other things. </strong>
</p>
<p>Amira was fascinated – although the thought of floating disembodied hands was a little unsettling, she supposed it would have made things much easier for him. But her mind was still caught on his mention of magic being used to maintain monsters’ physical forms. She had assumed until this point that the reason for Gaster’s not-quite-solidness and amorphous form was because he was missing most of his soul. But perhaps it was to do with his lack of magic as well.</p>
<p>Amira remembered when she had described Gaster to Sans during their conversation at Grillby’s, the skeleton monster had told her it sounded like he looked a little different. The woman’s mind begged the question – what did he look like normally? And would his appearance change back to that when his soul was restored? That was a strange thing for Amira to think about. She had become so used to him after being around him for so long that the thought of his appearance and the familiar fog-like feeling of him suddenly changing was... odd. She had to stop her train of thought there – she was getting far too ahead of herself. This was assuming they would be able to find all the soul pieces and safely restore them.</p>
<p>Either way, Amira was swiftly learning that magic was inextricably tied to monsters’ lives and souls. “I had no idea.” She confessed, “It must be really difficult not being able to use your magic anymore.”</p>
<p>“It is.” Gaster admitted, “When I first returned to consciousness after the... accident,” his eye-lights flickered briefly, “I immediately knew that I had lost an essential part of myself. It seemed worse than losing a limb, even.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.” Amira said simply, hoping to convey her sympathy. She didn’t know what else she could say, never having lost a part of herself like that before. She couldn’t begin to imagine what that must be like.</p>
<p>The pair continued through the Ruins, with Amira occasionally having to pull out her improvised map. She had used her scale-maps of the Underground, overlaying a human map of Mount Ebott on top, with the soul piece coordinate marked on it. Because the Ruins weren’t really on any maps of the Underground in any substantial detail, there was a lot of guesswork involved in determining which paths to take based on the location of the soul piece. Thankfully, there weren’t a lot of divergent paths, so Amira was fairly confident they were still heading the right way.</p>
<p>The Ruins were still incredibly eerie, and Amira had begun to realise why – the silence. Although the entire Underground was uninhabited, the rest of it seemed to be bursting with liveliness. Hotland was filled with the constant noise of churning lava and roaring flames, Waterfall had the bubbling and rushing of water, the strange whispers of the Echo Flowers, and the crashing walls of water, and even in Snowdin she could hear the constant soft impacts of snowflakes as they landed on the ground, or the trees, or the top of her head. But the Ruins were totally silent. Save for her own quiet footfalls and the static hum that Gaster caused, there was no noise reaching Amira’s ears. Silent, empty, and motionless.</p>
<p>Amira and Gaster encountered a few puzzles as they made their way through the Ruins. Despite these puzzles being unfamiliar to both of them, they were nowhere near as difficult and intricate as those in Hotland were. So, they were no match for the pair of scientists working together.</p>
<p>Eventually, they found themselves at the top of an immaculate double-staircase that led down into a courtyard lined with more of the crimson ground-dwelling plant they had seen earlier. Amira unfolded her map again, studying it carefully. “We’re very close,” she murmured, showing it to Gaster and pointing to where she thought they were. “Looks like we’ve got to go a bit further ahead, and it’ll be somewhere in that general vicinity.”</p>
<p>“Alright.” The monster confirmed, eyes darting up to look ahead. He looked distinctly hopeful, standing tall with his eye-lights gleaming a bright silver as they flicked over the wide open archway in the wall ahead. They both hurried down the steps and past the empty courtyard. As she stood at the mouth of the archway, a strange but beautiful sight met Amira’s eyes.</p>
<p>It was a pitch dark cave of indeterminate size – Amira’s eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness so she couldn’t quite make out the details – but the thing that really caught her attention was the small patch of radiant, golden flowers inside, illuminated by a ray of sunlight streaming in from a gaping crack in the cave’s high roof. Wordlessly, she switched her phone’s torch on to scope out the size of the area they would have to search.</p>
<p>“Well...” she said quietly, “this might take a while.” The cave wasn’t impossibly large, or anything – to the contrary, it looked to be only maybe 40 or so metres across. But the terrain was treacherous. The ground was split by jagged rock outcroppings and deep cracks. The floor itself was also quite uneven, littered with loose pieces of rock. The little haven with the golden flowers in the centre of the cave looked to be the only part that didn’t look even mildly hazardous.</p>
<p>“Amira,” Gaster caught her attention with a light touch to the back of her hand, “I think I can feel it.” His gaze was fixed on a point to the left of the cave.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Amira asked, confused. “Like you can feel the soul piece?”</p>
<p>“I... believe so, yes.” Gaster responded optimistically, “I feel it calling me.” He gestured with one hand to where he had been looking deeper inside the cave. “I believe it is somewhere in that direction.”</p>
<p>“Ok!” Amira said brightly, “Easy...” she trailed off as she tried to visually work out a safe way of getting to the area he had pointed to. There was an accumulation of jagged rocks in their path, some of which stood taller than Amira. She couldn’t see past those, but she was certain there would be even more perilous obstacles ahead. “Ok...” she conceded at Gaster’s incredulous look, “maybe not so easy.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps not.” Gaster agreed. “It was wise of us to allow ourselves extra time.”</p>
<p>“Definitely. Well,” Amira spoke in a chipper tone, “let’s go, I guess. No time like the present!” All she could think was that she was immensely glad she’d had the foresight to wear her hiking boots. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Fun fact: this chapter was supposed to include them finding the actual soul piece and everything. But as I was writing, a few little unplanned scenes just sort of... happened. So it all started getting very long very quickly! </p>
<p>Hope you guys enjoyed it anyway! Let me know what you think :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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